The Legend of Neon
by Neokrieger
Summary: What would happen if a special boy with a hateful past, who wields the power of light and darkness were to be trapped in Aincrad? A young teenager, one day, wakes up in the fields of starting city without any memories of his dark past. On his journey his morals, memories and character will be rewritten and he will form bonds which could change the devil inside of him forever.
1. Prologue

**I don't own anything besides my OCs and the story itself. Enjoy the prologue**

* * *

**The Legend of Neon**

**Prologue**

Sword Art Online. This was the name of the very first virtual reality MMORPG, or for short VRMMORPG. The creator of this revolutionary masterpiece went by the name Kayaba Akihiko who was by no doubt a genius for his time. He alone drafted the plans for a device called Nerve Gear, which is a helmet that allows the occupant to immerse themselves within a digital environment through a process named 'Full Dive'. Months after the release of Nerve Gear, there were no noteworthy compatible titles. However with the release of Sword Art Online, this was to change. The game is said to fully merge one into the body of a digital adventurer of the fictional island Aincrad. The positive feedback of the beta testers has led to the first 10,000 sales just minutes after the release, no doubt there would have been more people willing to pay for this game. Unfortunately for the rest of the gaming community, those 10,000 copies were the only ones available, which aggravated gamers not only in Japan, but the rest of the world.

However Kayaba Akihiko had his own plans. He was to turn the island Aincrad into a prison for those people who were lucky, or in this case unlucky enough to get their hands on a copy. It was a childhood dream to live and fight in a world of fantasy and adventure, and he would use this innocent desire to live in an alternate reality to carry out his disturbing plan.

But even Akihiko would've never been able to imagine in his wildest dreams how much of an permanent impact the creation of the island Aincrad would have on planet Earth. The birth of Aincrad would forever change the flow of the universe, different dimensions and other worlds beyond any common human's comprehensible belief. What would've happened if the devil himself became trapped in the world of Aincrad?

Neon. A young teenager who is in constant conflict with himself, and wields the power of light and darkness. What would've happened if one day he woke up in the fields of Starting City, Aincrad, without any memory of his past life and identity apart from his name, reborn with a clean soul and pure innocence? On his journey his morals, memories and character were rewritten entirely on a blank piece of paper. It has been a long and punishing adventure. Formidable strength and the desire to know is the only thing that kept the light of his soul from dying out. One thing is for sure, he formed bonds that changed him forever.

* * *

(Location Unknown)

Pitch black. This was the most accurate description of this place I could think of. Apart from one round platform, there was nothing in sight. Nothing else existed in here, silence was all I heard, and darkness was all I saw.

This round platform consisted of a thin blue ring, following the circumference of it. Within this ring the background was made up of what looked like a Yin and Yang symbol, the colours being pure black and white, but without one having a spot with the opposite colour as it is in the traditional symbol. But there was something more than quite wrong with the symbol. Instead of the colours having their equal share of the area in a harmonic way, you could see both Yin and Yang overlapping each other. Even this was not permanent. It looked almost like the colours fought each other, washing each other away, leaving what looked like a long, S shaped smudge. As if the symbol was an oil painting, and someone had ran their finger through the middle.

Though what'd pierce a viewer's eye first, would be image of a person that could be seen lying perpendicular to the symbol across the platform. It was the picture of a young boy with short azure blue hair. He was lying flat on his back, with one hand behind his head and the other resting on his lower chest. His body form looked thin. Not too thin but slightly below the average person. His eyes were closed, his relaxed facial expression and comfortable posture indicated he could've been asleep, or at least falling asleep. His ears and nose were as you would expect for a boy of his build, delicate as the rest of the boy. The clothes he wore consisted of a simple snow white hoodie and a pair of dark blue jeans.

''This is so extremely boring...''. A tired voice echoed in the void. Looking closer you could spot a lone person sitting in the centre of the platform. He wore a dark coat which concealed him, making him hard to spot, surrounded with so much darkness. He just sat there in a cross legged position with his head resting on his right hand and his left hand holding the elbow of the other arm.

''I have been hiding for days now. It should be me hunting them but of course those weaklings managed to wound me... I need to find a new playground to get my mind busy. These cursed nightmares are starting to be a real pain.'' The hand grabbing his head started to tense. ''Arrghh." He brought his hands behind him touching the ground and started pushing himself up. Back up on his feet he grabbed his head again. ''Damn it. I would love if you could stop aching all the time...'' He started taking slow steps towards the edge of the platform. ''But then again I guess I don't deserve such mercy, do I?'' He started laughing with a quiet and limp voice.

Arriving at the edge of the platform, he lowered himself into a crouched position, whilst still on his feet. His hands were lying on top of his knee caps. He raised his right hand and made a swift gesture by slashing it from left to right. ''Give me some place random. I just need something to kill...'' He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. ''Alright then. Show me what the future holds for this world...'' The void descended into the deepest silence imaginable as the dark figure began to breathe so lightly that his presence became purely inaudible. You couldn't even hear the pulse of his heart.

As fast as the peace came, it was cut suddenly by a loud, menacing and arrogant laughter. ''Sword Art Online huh? A mere video game? How pathetic!'' The sound of the laughter started to die down until its echo was lost in the dark void. ''Still quite interesting though.'' He lifted his right hand up to his covered face and took hold of his head again. ''Kill one there and their brain gets fried for real. Never had that one, and it seems like they are going to get their happy ending... But what if good old Neon would come and cause for some trouble? Maybe everyone would get their well deserved salvation.'' The obscure laughter began once more.

''Well then the show can begin.''

* * *

**Well I hope this wasn't a too horrible start. **

**First of all this is not my first fanfiction but i would like to consider it as my first since the actual one was a complete disaster. Mostly because I was a bit younger then and couldn't force myself to write anything past 200 words. **

**The reason I decided to make this FF is that this story Is based on the daydreaming I do. Neon was my protagonist used for quite a few years now though I did have a lot of variations of adventures he would go through. When having these story's, I always pick ideas from many different anime and video games . The platform mentioned, for example, was an idea taken from Kingdom hearts if anyone noticed :P Other than that I just want to write it because I could do so in a lot more detail and also share it with others.  
**

**Now coming back to the matter of taking pieces from different areas... If I actually get myself to write everything I have planned( And believe me I am eager to do so at the moment), then this story will become a crossover in the second arc with Kingdom hearts. In this first arc there wont be enough to make it a crossover. The pairing will be Asada Shino with my OC because she is my favorite character in the SAO novels. Don't expect me to explain why she is trapped in SAO. It is just my variation.**

** I would really love feedback since I know that I am quite a terrible writer at the moment who gets things messed up.A comment on how I could change my writing style would be nice. Who Neon really is will be revealed in the second arc(if i get this far...) where he will gain his memories back. I am not sure if this is a good choice but it is the way I would like to do it at the moment. Not sure if I am going to write a complete story on his past or embed it into one of the main arcs . Again this depends on how much motivation i have for this. Chapter 1 is already done with around 4600 of it is in a first person view of the protagonist. I will post it as soon as I have fixed the errors.**

**To finish this, the cover image is drawn by myself after a few attempts. I am not really good at drawing but it was the best one i could get for now. Even though my protagonist doesn't really look like that... It is the closest I could get. I will change it if i manage to draw a better one.**

**Update- My friend CapNirvy edited the grammar in this for me a little, hes a baws.**


	2. Chapter 1 Awakening

**The Legend of Neon**

**Chapter 1-Awakening**

_Floor 1_

_November 6__th__, 13:30 Aincrad Standard Time_

(Third person viewpoint)

''Man this game is really something!''

Aincrad. This was the name of the floating island which makes up the world of Sword Art Online, the first ever VRMMORPG. A round island which has the largest diameter at the bottom, and would become thinner with each floor as it would go up to the top. Altogether the astonishing structure was made up of 100 floors in total.

Today was the day at which the servers of the official game were first launched at exactly 13:00. Seemingly all 10000 players who managed to get their hands on a copy of the game were located on the first floor.

Geographically the first floor is the largest of all the floors in Aincrad as it is located towards the bottom, acting like an appropriately sized foundation for the rest of the floors which lie on top of it. It had no particular theme to it as you could find different sort of biomes to show the variety of the floating world. The floor only had one major city to it which was called Starting City as it was the first spawn point for all the new players of Sword Art Online. The area surrounding starting city was made up of mainly grassland with barely any hills and overall a flat structure. The mobs which are located in this area are mainly made up of boar and wolf type creatures as it is common in standard MMORPGs. 'Mobs' is a term widely used in gaming especially in RPG type games as it describes Non Player controlled hostile creatures, NPCs for short.

''Come on Haru. No need to shout like that...'' On the fields of starting city, not too far off the walls, you could spot two figures that look like men in their early twenties. One of them had long blond hair and had a large height with wide shoulders, looking like your stereotype knight in shining armour. The other figure had short and spiky brown hair and looked more like your average person would. Both were wearing the standard armour for new adventurers in Aincrad. These clothes were made up of simple brown trousers, a white shirt and leather armour surrounding the chest area. Both were walking around aimlessly in the field and observing their location.

''Oi man didn't I tell you to call me by my in game player name?'' The blond knight looked annoyed at his companion. ''I refuse to call a sap like you Arthur. Seriously do you have no imagination whatsoever?''. '' Oh so you think I have no imagination Daisuke? Or should I say xBladeEdgex?'' Whilst saying the player name out he pronounced the x at each end with extra emphasis. ''Hey don't joke about it! It isn't my fault that it was taken so early on'' Spiky hair countered. ''Well you could have... I don't know maybe taken a different name?''. ''Dude it had to be BladeEdge. I told you before didn't I?''. ''Alright, alright I give up'' The blonde man announced whilst raising both his hands in defeat. ''But since this is not RL we should follow the basic rule of not using your own name don't you think too? I call you BladeEdge and you call me Arthur. Deal?''. ''Deal!'' Both companions gave each other their hand.

After a while of travelling through the fields, BladeEdge raised his finger in a direction left to where they were heading. ''What the hell is that guy there doing?''. After taking a glance in the direction his party member was pointing, he saw a young looking boy with short blue hair, lying with his back against one of the random rectangular stones that were lying around distributed around the place. He was wearing the standard starter kit with the same armour as the two travelling friends. His eyes were closed.

''Eh? Is he taking a nap? How lame is that! It is barely half an hour since the start of the servers... On the other hand'' He suddenly punches the air in front of him with his right hand ''This game is even more awesome than I thought! If it wouldn't be for food and the bathroom we could practically live here''. His spiky haired friend just made a sour expression ''Are you for real? Come on man. I thought that was an NPC... Maybe he has some sort of special quest''. ''Nah I doubt that there would be an NPC sitting in a location like this. And by the way, look at his cursor idiot. Definitely a player'' Arthur raised his right hand and pointed at the green health bar. You could not see the usual icon that shows 'NPC' below the health bar. ''Ah great didn't see that'' he grabbed the back of his head with his left hand and made a somewhat ashamed expression for making such an amateur mistake.

''Hey Arthur how about we PK him? Some extra items won't hurt huh?''. Arthur looked at him somewhat agitated ''Man are you really such a coward? That would be just completely mean as well'' He punched his right fist on to his chest ''we have to act like honourable warriors in this new world. We can't let our self down to such petty thievery!''. Then in a lower voice he continued ''and... The starter gear is not worth anything anyway''. BladeEdge let out a small laugh ''Well that is true. Still want to do him the favour and wake him up before everyone else has cleared the game without him?''. ''Eh. Might as well''.

* * *

(Neon viewpoint)

_Where am I...?_

Looking around me I could see nothing but darkness.

_Am I dreaming or something... What is that forming over there?_

Looking closer I could see two figures being manifested by the darkness. One had medium length silver white hair which was kept from the left to the right, partially covering his right eye. His eyes colour was a dark but soft red. Other than that he was wearing a white jacket, shirt and trousers. The figure to his left however seemed like the complete opposite with pitch black hair kept from the right to the left, brown eyes and everything the other was wearing, but in a black colour.

''Hey look who we got here, if it isn't our little protégé huh? And how has life been after you brutally murdered us to take our powers?'' The person talking was the silver haired guy.

_But that was not true! You told me I needed to stop you!_

I wanted to shout it out at him but for some reason I could not force out any words. ''You were not even able to fulfil our last wish'' This time it was the black haired figure talking. ''Instead you used our powers to bring despair and destruction to worlds which you were supposed to protect''

I wasn't able to justify that so I tried to avoid eye contact. Looking into those harsh faces of my old friends was worse than torture.

_I am sorry... I was too weak to keep the dark and light forces into balance... It hurts just too much..._

Looking back up at my old friends, I can see that they had their hands pointing behind me, indicating for me to turn around. I have done so, instantly feeling regret when I saw the next person standing there. It was a young woman with a similar blue hair tone I had. She looked at me with sad eyes, tearful eyes. ''How did it come like this?'' She said in a quiet voice. ''You hurt all the people you are supposed to help! Do you know how much pain we went through because of that?!'' This time she nearly shouted. ''And additional to that you have also contributed to the destruction of all worlds. What do you see of your future? Killing everything is never going to make you feel better!''

_Dam it sis, I know that!_

I started to lose the strength in my legs and fell on my knees. I grabbed my head with both hands thinking it would ease the pain I am feeling.

_I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask for any of this! I never even wanted these powers. I would love nothing more than to change!_

''Then change''

Suddenly I felt myself being forcefully dragged out of this void.

* * *

(Neon Viewpoint)

''Hey, I think he is waki...''

_What the hell is this...? What an annoying voice. Waking up? Was I asleep?_

Slowly opening my eyes, the vast amount of light instantly forced me to shut them again. Still I tried again and caught a glance of two figures standing above me, one with long blond hair and the other with spiky brown hair. ''Well BladeEdge another good deed done. Get levelling pal or you will be left behind. Well then see you around''.

_Good deed...? Levelling...? Wait what? Where am I?_

I tried to force all those questions out of my mind for now and concentrate on remembering... something at least. ''Hey you two...'' I started but when I raised my head to look at them, they were gone already. Pure frustration made its way on to my expression. Slowly raising my hands and looking at them whilst still sitting against... a rock it seem, there is only one question that is driving me crazy.

''Who exactly am I?''

After speaking the most important question out loud, more made their way into my mind, quickly piling up.

_Where am I? What was I doing before? ...Why am I here to begin with?_

Suddenly a sharp pain in my head became noticeable as I grabbed my head with both hands, hoping it would help... Well it didn't. ''Amnesia? Are you kidding me? Please tell me that this is a joke, someone''. I put more force into both my hands and my face was tensing up. ''You can't just forget something as important as who you are, can you?! Dam it! The only two who could have given me some sort of information left!''. I could feel some tears form in my eyes.

_No you idiot you can't just let yourself get defeated... Pull yourself together!_

Wiping the tears that formed off my face, I started to make my way up on to my legs first. The headache still didn't stop to my luck. After getting up I first took a look down on myself. I could see some sort of armour but really if it wasn't for the chest plate, then it would be normal clothing you would see from a villager. After I confirmed what I was wearing, I started to look around the area I was. Even though seconds ago despair seemed to overtake me there was only one comment I could give about the place. ''Woahhh. This looks fantastic'' I could see wide green grassland but not only that. Surrounding the area I could see all kinds of interesting places reaching from mountains to deep forests and even what seemed like huge white walls surrounding a city.

''Well as beautiful this place looks... How comes there is such a variety of biomes?''

_Before going any further that route, I should think about what I remember and what not... So in terms of memory about me everything seems to be wiped clean. I don't even know my name... But other than that my general knowledge and logic seems to be alright. Is this even possible?_

I started to take a more detailed look around myself. By accident, when trying to move my eyes without my head I was able to see a green bar above me.

_What the hell is this?!_

Taking a closer look I could also read a word below the green health bar. ''Ne...on? Neon. Is that my name? Well at least I got some lead. Seems to be something that belongs to me since I don't remember seeing anything like this on the two guys before''

_Ah great. If I want to get any more information like this I need to find someone to ask... They won't likely know me but at least a lead at what this place is would be nice..._

I started to clean my clothes from any dust that could have been on it from sitting in the dirt. Surprisingly there was none at all. ''Well better get going then... The city would be a good first destination'' I started walking for a few meters just to see something in front of me that nearly made me shout. I jumped in the next best bush I could find

_What the hell are these doing here?!_

Looking out on the field, I could spot 4 wolves that were moving around in an unpredictable manner. Whispering in a tone that was only audible by myself I said ''Wolves in an open place like this? How am I supposed to get past those? They are going to rip me to shreds if they notice me. And what are those yellow diamonds above their heads?'' Looking closer they had some sort of weird cursor above their head. ''Well if I let myself get surprised by anything around here like that, it won't help me proceed''. I looked around rapidly to find a way to get past without being seen. ''Well I could go around... could take a while though. I honestly can't believe that they haven't smelled me yet'' Whilst letting my eyes move around, I caught glance at something that was hanging at my waist.

_A sword? Am I some sort of soldier? That can't be it... I am far too young to be a soldier. But then again I have no idea what kind of world this is. Should I try to attack them? No! One guy against 4 wolves would be suicide... maybe I could..._

My thought process was interrupted by someone appearing out of nowhere and to my surprise closing in on the wolves. The newcomer was concealed in a brown, cheap looking cloak which covered him from head to foot. The figure pulled out a simple and small dagger out of the cloak.

_Are you crazy?! You are going to get yourself killed! You can't beat four wolves with just that pathetic dagger!_

I was about to shout out to him but suddenly I saw his dagger glow in a blue light. The next second one of the wolves was down. Her taking it out with just one weird swing did amaze me but what came next just completely confused me. Instead of the wolf dying how I would have expected it, which is bleeding out from the swing. Instead it exploded into thousands of polygons.

_What...? Is that even normal? Maybe I did lose more general knowledge than expected... But I could have sworn that this is not what happens when something dies... What the hell is this place?_

Looking back at the figure from my hiding place I could see to my disbelieve that he already took out all the wolves as I witnessed the last one exploding into polygons. Then some sort of screen appeared in front of the person. Really I have seen quite enough.

_I guess for the time being it would be the smartest to expect anything from this place... ANYTHING._

The cloaked person just clicked on the screen and made it disappear. After that he just waited there for quite a bit of time.

_What is he doing? Is he going to move sometime soon? I mean... I could ask him about this place but after seeing him take down 4 wolves, I am not sure if that guy safe to talk to..._

''Are you trying to ambush me or something? Why are you hiding in that bush?''

_Oh crap_

I raised myself with my eyes closed and an embarrassed expression. Additional to that I held the back of my head with my right hand to make it look even more like I did not want to have any trouble. When opening my eyes back up he was up in my face... No. Now that I can take a look at the persons face... It is actually a girl. She has brown eyes and curly auburn hair. Other than that she had strange black markings on her face which looked like whiskers. She is glaring at me... It looks kind of scary...

_You moron how could you think that it is a guy? Scratch that what do I do now? It feels like she wants to kill me... and I am pretty sure she can if she wanted to after what I have seen...How did she see me anyway? It was a decent hiding spot. I need to do something._

And so what I did in that instance was jump back like a fool and try to unsheathe my sword, failing miserably in the process. Great, just completely amazing. ''Hey noob-san, what exactly are you trying to do?''. ''Eh noob? Is that my name?'' My face lit up from an embarrassed state instantly to an excited one and I started grabbing both her shoulders with my hands and shaking here back and forward. Her face showed that she was in extreme discomfort but I really don't care right now ''Does that mean you know me?! Please I need your help!''. Continuing, I could see that whilst I was probably killing her right now, she started to raise her right hand. I stopped for a moment because I thought that she was trying to say something. She continued to raise her hand to her eye level and seemed to press something in mid air... Suddenly out of nowhere I was catapulted roughly 10 meters and landed on my back...

_What the hell was that?! It didn't hurt but that just makes it even weirder!_

''What was that?!'' I shouted at her whilst trying to stand back up. At the same time she was laughing at me. ''That, was the anti harassment option'' she stated whilst trying to calm down. ''The anti what?''. ''It is a special feature of the game that allows people to teach perverts like you a lesson''. ''Who are you calling a pervert? I didn't do anything!'' I am starting to feel extremely agitated by this girl. Who does she think she is? ''Yes exactly. Because it is completely normal to strangle a stranger'' she stated looking annoyed... But what she said suddenly confused me. ''Wait stranger? So you don't know who I am?''. ''No. Why? Am I supposed to know you?'' Her annoyed expression didn't change at all. ''But you called me noob-san didn't you?''. ''Well of course. Anyone would see that you are a complete noob!''. Now I was shouting ''Then what does that even mean!?''

_Am I maybe going too far here? I am just letting my frustration out... _

''Alright, calm down. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings'' I stopped to even look at her. The terrible headache was starting again... I just grabbed my head and let out a painful and agonizing cry whilst dropping to the ground.

_Why is this happening to me!_

I could hear the girl starting to take slow steps towards me. ''Hey? Are you alright there?''. ''No I am not fucking alright!'' I just had to let it all out ''I wake up in this place not knowing where the hell I am or even who I am for that matter. Additional to that there is this horrible headache I am feeling for the second time now! And then to top it all off everything I see around here defies anything I do remember! Was that even blood when you killed those wolves?!''. ''Wait, are you telling me that you have lost your memories?''

_No. Obviously I am kidding... lying in the dirt close to complete despair and such._

''I can help you out there''

_Eh...? You can?!_

''You can?'' I raised my head to look at the girl. I couldn't tell by her expression what she was thinking about. Now also getting a better look at me, she seems a bit young to be fighting wolves... around my age maybe? Heck, what am I talking about? I don't even know what age I am myself and additional to that I haven't seen how I look like either. Still she was only barely smaller than me. ''Yes'' She started to hold her chin and made a thoughtful expression whilst closing her eyes. This is taking too long... ''Can you now please tell me?!''. She looked at me and glared again ''I am just thinking about it. Well first of all pick yourself up and try to save some of that pride of yours''. Now it was my turn to glare at her.

_She was right though... Was I always such a cry baby? Guess I am going to do what she says for now. She is unfortunately the closest thing to a help I could find right now._

After getting back up I waited patiently for her to start off. I am prepared for anything! ''Alright first of all. This is not the real world but a video game, a virtual reality game to be precise''. I stared at her for. Alright maybe not prepared for anything...I looked at her extremely dumbfounded ''what exactly do you mean?''. ''How can I explain this the best way...'' She is starting to stare at the ground in silence whilst holding her chin. After what she just said I didn't know what exactly I should do. ''What is a video game?''. She started to raise her head and just stared at me. ''Now that you are mentioning it... How much exactly do you remember? I can't stand here all day trying to teach you the alphabet''

_Do I really look that stupid? She is probably being sarcastic I guess..._

''So your silence means that you don't remember the alphabet...?''. I started shaking my head for a second in denial ''Of course I remember that! I still seem to have all my general knowledge. The problem is just who exactly I am''. ''Fair enough. I still can't believe that you have never heard of a videogame before. Well let me give you a brief explanation then...''

For the next few minutes she proceeded to tell me the details about where exactly I was. Well a few minutes are an understatement. It felt like a whole hours of this. Sword Art Online huh? It realistically represents a virtual reality. I am not even sure if this explanation has helped or just made it worse. Though at least I know what this place is called and also why she wasn't afraid of attacking those wolves... It was just a game.

''Alright then... but that still doesn't explain my memory loss'' Since the start of the explanation we have sat down on one of the rocks. Ironically the same I woke up against. She was rubbing her chin thoughtfully ''Well to be honest I have no idea. Maybe it is because you put the Nerve Gear on? I mean it was never tested thoroughly so it could have negative effects''

_The Nerve Gear..., a device which is able to simulate all 5 senses. Sword Art Online was the first real big game that was made to be played on it. I understand this far better than I thought I would..._

''You should get going and log out then. As soon as you wake up in the real world you should have your memories back. Or at the very least your parents can get you to a hospital to help you'' she started to stand up from the rock. ''Log out?''. ''Yeah sorry I have left out details about the game itself. Someone like you shouldn't really be playing right now. So to log out you first make a gesture like this to open your menu...'' She proceeded to wave her right hand downwards from the air in a swift motion. ''Nothing happened...'' I declared with a bit of confusion. ''That is because you can't see the menu of other people, unless they allow you. Try it for yourself now'' She positioned both arms on her chest holding the opposite arm in a waiting manner.

_Alright then. _

I repeated the same motion as she did. When I did some sort of transparent screen appeared right in front of me. I looked at it in amazement ''It worked!'' I shouted like a little kid who has done something for the first time. She just giggled at it which annoyed me to no end. ''What is so funny?''. She caught herself again and just continued as if nothing happened ''Well never mind. To log out you need to click the button that says log out in the bo...''

_She stopped. Why did she stop?_

She just continued to stare in the blank space. ''Is something wrong?'' I dared to ask. ''It is not there. The log out button is not there'' I didn't know what to say to that.

_You have got to be kidding me. More problems_

Then after staring for a whiles she started to shake her head and continued ''don't worry. It is most likely just a mistake by the game developers. They should have it fixed soon. How about you check if yours is there?''. ''Already did. I can't see anything that fits your description'' I let out a sigh of frustration. ''Don't worry like I said it should be alright soon'' She came over to me and softly punched me on the right shoulder. ''yeah'' I tried to lighten up myself a little more. ''Thank you for your help eh...?''. ''Argo. My name is Argo. My in game name at least. I won't tell you my real name''. ''Ah so the name that is floating over my head is my in game name?'' I pointed in the rough direction above me. She nodded in response. ''Ok got it. Thank you for your help Argo my name is Neon'' I gave her my hand in a friendly gesture and we shake hands for a second. Though it did seem like it was awkward for her, Can't blame her. I am a stranger after all. '' And sorry for my pathetic first expression'' she just waved her hand at that excuse. ''Nah, Don't worry. I am pretty sure that anyone would have cried like that after losing his memories''

_Go on... pour salt into the wound._

''Well anyway you don't seem to know what honorific's are either do you?''. I started to stare at her again. What was that? Don't tell me there is another problem... Seeing the look on my face she started, much to my displeasure, to giggle at me again ''Never mind I was just...'' She couldn't finish her sentence as we were interrupted by a loud bell. ''What is it this time?!''.

_Ready for anything... yeah of course._

''I think it is an announcement by the developers. My guess would be that they are trying to make sure that the players are not panicking due to the missing log out button''.''So that is good, Right?'' I asked in a somewhat scared tone. ''You should really not worry so much. We are going to get separated most likely but you should be alright now. Good luck''. ''Hey wait what if...'' I stopped mid sentence as two separate blue flames surrounded me and her.

_It's alright. Everything is alright. You are prepared for anything._

* * *

**Chapter 1 Is finished and checked to the best of my abilities. Hope you liked it. Started working on Chapter 2 already so should be finished by Monday or so. **

**Wrote this one mostly in first person view... I think though i am going to switch it to third person in chapter 2. I would love some feedback to it so i can improve.**


	3. Chapter 2 Death Game

**Chapter 2 Death Game**

_Floor 1_

_November 6__th__, 17:30 Aincrad Standard Time_

_Location: Starting City Plaza_

(Third Person Viewpoint)

Starting city is the largest city in Aincrad, capable of holding thousands of players at once since it takes up 20% of the first floor. The city was built in a very circular style from the outer walls to the plaza which is located in the centre of Starting City. In said plaza you could suddenly see multiple blue flames appearing one after another and leaving back a player as they disappeared. One of these players is Neon who still seemed to be somewhat panicking even though the payer Argo told him that he would be alright as soon as he can log back out.

_-It's alright. Everything is alright. You are prepared for anything-_

With a poker face, he started to look around the plaza and saw thousands of other people. Even though he tried to remain calm, something in his gut keep telling him that this announcement would not end well. Seeing the sky darken just made him think of this as a cliché where in a second, lost memory won't be his only problem. Taking a closer look at the people around, he noticed that everyone was wearing the same sort of armour save for the colour of the shirt, and that some girls had skirts on. A few people also seemed to have acquired a cloak already. Also it seemed to him that the proportion of males and females was fairly equal. They all looked so cheerful. Maybe he should not be as worried. ''So what is this announcement about now?'' He whispered to himself, whilst looking up into the depressing sky.

The last few people appeared and now the plaza was filled with all the players of Sword Art Online. As if on command, the sky suddenly changed into a crimson red colour and hexagons with the text 'Warning!' started to appear. Right above the centre of the plaza, a red liquid started to flow out of the sky. It started to move into a sphere and then finally formed a person in a crimson red cloak. His appearance was completely covered and where his face would be, you could only see complete darkness. People started to say things like 'Game master' and 'event'. Neon just kept staring at this phantom. His nerves were on full patrol and his neutral expression changed into a tense one.

_-This guy... He doesn't look like he is going to spread good news-_

The noise in the plaza started to die down. Everyone was staring at this person with expectant eyes.

''**Attention, Players. Welcome to my world.''**

''What does he mean by 'My World'?'' The confusion started to make to make its way on to his face again.

''**My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world''**

People started to whisper amongst themselves. Neon just kept observing and tried to think what this guy wants.

_-It seems like this guy is well known...- _

''**I am sure you have already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu''**

_-So it was just a... what did Argo call it? A bug?-_

''**But this is not a defect in the game''**

_-Say what...?-_

Neon's expression changed into a peering one.

''**I repeat, this is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online''**

People all around the plaza became confused as to what this is supposed to mean. Neon on the other hand seemed to grasp what this meant.

_-Does this mean we are trapped in here?-_

''**You cannot log out of Sword Art Online yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the Nerve Gear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the Nerve Gear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life''**

This caused for a louder reaction. Most players were looking worried whilst some though of this as a joke. People were confused and started to somewhat panic. To Neon's right, he could see that a male and a girl were trying to leave but were blocked by an invisible barrier. ''I guess there is more to it'' He whispered and moved his attention back to the phantom, looking at him with aggravated eyes.

_-This guy wants to trap us in here. But how is that nerve gear device supposed to kill us?-_

Neon started to listen on a conversation between a black haired, tall male and a somewhat red to pink haired guy with a red bandana on his head. ''He is right that the transmitters signals work just like microwaves. If the safety were, disabled it could fry a brain''.

_-There is my answer...-_

''**Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning, and have attempted to remove the Nerve Gear. As a result two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world''**

''This is madness. What is this guy thinking?'' This time it was not just a whisper, but loud enough for others around him to hear. Neon notices that what he said may have caused even more stress to these people but he didn't care.

''**As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths''**

Multiple screens appeared around the ruler of this world and showed information of the world outside. None of the places or names though seemed familiar to Neon but he discarded it for now, as it didn't matter.

''**Thus, you can assume that the danger of a Nerve Gear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously...''**

_-It was so obvious-_

''**...the Nerve Gear will destroy your brain'' **

The time seemed to stop for a second. Neon just raised his right hand and stared at his fist. ''My instincts were right... Nothing is alright. Since I was trapped here with no memories, fate seems to kick me over and over again. Even though it was barely a few hours... this is not fair. You have got to be joking...'' Dead silence followed as everyone once again looked at the creator. Everyone was worried by now that what he said could actually be serious.

''**There is only one means of escape, to complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the boss floor, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on floor 100, and you will clear the game''**

Complains could be hear from all around. ''Clear the game? That is impossible!'' ''How long is this going to take?!'' ''Not even the beta testers ever managed it so far!''. Neon tried to think of what he could do.

_-So we need to win in order to get out..., easier said than done. I don't know anything about this game! Argo never explained how all this works. What can I do...? No one here seems to know a solution either-_

''**Finally, I have added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourself''**

Neon looked around himself and saw everyone doing the gesture to open their menu like he learned before. ''Alright let's see...'' He said as he made the same motion as before to see his menu open in front of him. He looks through it and sees a button that says 'character' after pressing it he notices three more options showing up. ''Equipment, skills and... Inventory. That should be it'' He clicked it and saw through his inventory. His eyes stopped and glanced at the item that said 'mirror'. Thinking that this is what he was looking for, he activated it and saw it materialise right in front of him. Catching it with his right hand, Neon looked at the mirror.

_-It is kind of weird... this is the first time I see how I look like. Well at least the first time I remember-_

The face he was looking at had no outstanding features. He looked rather young, with bright blue eyes and short, but messy, azure blue hair.

''What is the purpose of this...?'' He said as he raised his head back up to look at the people surrounding him. To his surprise it seemed that everyone around him was changing. A blue flame would surround them and completely change their appearance after it was gone. It didn't happen to him though which got him worried of what it meant. ''What did he do to them...?'' The plaza filled up with the surprised talk of all players. ''Hey you are not a girl!'' ''Why, do I look like myself?'' ''What is happening!''. It still didn't make much sense but Neon did get an idea of what was happening ''is this how they really look like? I have no idea...'' he let out a frustrated sigh. ''And why are there suddenly only males no matter where you look...?''

''**Right now you are probably wondering, why? Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the Nerve Gear, do all this? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason. To create this world and intervene in it''**

_-That... is your reason?-_

''**And now, it is complete. This ends the tutorial for the official launch of Sword Art online. Good luck, players''**

After those last words, which were somewhat filled with honesty, the body of the phantom started to disintegrate into red smoke which was then flooding back between the red hexagons covering the sky. In a fraction of a second, the hexagons disappeared and the sky became normal.

Complete silence started to fill the plaza, as each player was trying to comprehend what just happened.

''That... is your reason...?'' Neon whispered silently whilst staring at the ground. Suddenly he raised his head back up, looking right at the spot where the phantom was seconds. With complete rage filling his eyes he shouted ''YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!''. He broke the silence which he instantly regretted it as it resulted in every person located in the plaza falling into a state of panic. Some people were crying, some shouted insults at the creator and the last few who were too shocked to do anything just remained sitting on the floor, not giving a sound. People were starting to push each other around trying to reach the middle of the plaza, hoping for some reason that they could grab the phantom and do with him as he deserved.

In all that chaos Neon started to take a few steps back and quickly checked the whole area around him. ''I can't do this on my own. Hell, I don't even know how anything in this game works'' under all the chaos, he was able to spot some individual who ran out of the plaza with a strange determination in their eyes, completely different from the remaining hopeless players.

_-They know what they are doing... My best bet is to catch one of them and plead them for some sort of advice-_

* * *

Neon started to follow these individuals. Running as fast as his legs could take him. He left through the south entrance to the plaza and tried to find one of those players. He spotted one. A girl, who was wearing the same standard Armour as most players currently but other than most girls, didn't choose to weir a skirt. From the back, Neon could see that she had black hair. She was heading for one of the side streets, leading right out of the town. He tried to call out to her ''Hey wait up for a second please!''. She took a small peak to see who was following her. Neon followed her into a side street. Reaching the dark side street she started to slow down and finally came to a stop.

Neon, who was able to catch up, was now standing right in front of her, breathing exhaustively whilst balancing himself on top of both his knees using both his arms. She was starting to turn around and started at him with a completely emotionless expression, her hands hanging by her side. When Neon caught his breath, he started looking up slowly until their eyes met. She actually looked better than he assumed at first since most of the females here were men in disguise. The girl had thin,black hair which was tied into small ribbons by the side of her face, with the back cut short. Her body looked slim and fragile. What caught his attention most were her black eyes. They looked so... cold, empty and emotionless. They remember you at someone who has seen all the pain and suffering in the world and just started to not care about it anymore. ''What do you want?'' Her voice was filled with the same emotionless feel to it but was also accompanied by demand and impatience. Whilst starting to get completely back on his feet, Neon started to stutter a bit after hearing the small girl in front of him talk in such a cold manner. ''S-sorry... I-i-i just wa'' He stopped dead in the track after seeing her, before emotionless, eyes glare at him.

''Could you stop, wasting my time?'' He was at loss for words.

_-Why is she so resentful? Is it because of what happened? It probably is... But it is still weird seeing someone who looked like her be so heartless-_

She probably thought that he was done because she was starting to turn and head outside of the side street. Neon pulled himself together. She was the only chance he had right now. He grabbed her right shoulder and tried to stop her ''Please wait...''. She started at him with a somewhat confused expression, slowly reaching with her index finger in the air in front of her. Knowing what she wanted to do, he quickly added ''...I am sorry but I really need your help...''. Luckily for him, it did sound convincing so she started to lower her hand again to her side. When Neon let go of her shoulder, she started to turn back around. Now facing him with a demanding look ''Alright I give you two minutes, hurry up and tell me what is the matter''.

This time he did his best to not fail completely. ''Alright... So I have no idea what this game is about, and I was hoping if you are able to help me out...? Please, I would really appreciate it'' To put emphasis into his words he raised both his hands into a praying position and looked at the ground. He left out the fact that he couldn't remember anything since he would figure that people would think that he was lying, because there probably were not as many people who have the same problem in this game. At least he thought so. ''Sorry, but I can't waste time by trying to teach a noob about the game. I have to survive myself as well you know''. There was that word again... Neon started to raise his head, seeing that she was already leaving. He started to lose hope and thought that he would never survive this.

_-What can I do? If I don't know how to fight here then how can I be of any use? I will probably have to stay in this town forever... how long will it even take to 'clear' this death game?-_

Before she was completely gone, she stopped at the end of the street. ''If I was you, I would go to the NPC general item shop just at the exit of the plaza. You can get a handbook there which will teach you everything you need to know about the game. That is all the help I can give you. Good luck'' and with that... she was gone. Neon started to gain the confidence back that he lost just mere seconds ago. ''Thanks...'' the swordsman was sure that she could not hear it but he thought that it counts anyway. ''Just around the plaza she said? I hope those guys there have calmed down''. With that, Neon started to walk back from where he came.

* * *

A few minutes later, he managed to find the general item store. On the way he had to get past some players who were running amok. Of course they didn't calm down. Entering the store, the customer was greeted by a bald man with a grey beard who looked to be around sixty years old. He was wearing a blue shirt, with a white vest and was just a little bit smaller than Neon himself. ''Welcome to Morter's general item store, what can I do for you!''.

_-How comes this guy is so cheerful whilst everyone else out there is losing their minds?-_

Neon suddenly saw something below the green cursor of the shopkeeper. It said 'NPC'.

_-What does that even stand for?-_

For now he just discarded that thought and took a look around the shop. He didn't remember any other shops he could compare it with... It looked quite messy with different sort of items lying around, from a simple pile of paper to a large battleaxe which was at rest right next to the door. The shopkeeper himself was standing behind a counter. Almost everything except the items themselves was made out of oak wood. The shopkeeper saw that Neon was observing the store carefully. ''You must be interested in these old treasures aren't you?'' Neon stopped to look around and fixed his view on the shop keeper, whilst still standing at the entry door. ''Come on my boy, I am sure you didn't enter just to stand around there all day''. Hesitantly, he started to move towards the counter, in front of the old man. ''uh, Sir...'' He was instantly stopped in the middle of the sentence ''Please, leave out the formalities! Just call me Morter, alright?''.

This guy really did seem cheerful. Even for a person who was trying to get himself a permanent customer. ''Alright, Morter, I was just looking for some sort of guide that was supposed to be available here''. Realisation started to shine in Morters eyes ''Ah! So you are one of the new adventurers?''. Neon guessed that this guy meant player... wasn't he one himself? ''Yeah'' he answered with a nervous look, hoping it was the right thing. ''It must be amazing to travel through Aincrad and going on all kinds of adventures. But I shouldn't be wasting your time. You must be eager to follow your path'' he started to duck down behind his counter and started to look for something. This guy just downright confused Neon. Did he not know what was going on? After a few seconds of looking through the items he had, he pulled out a little book and started to hand it to Neon ''Here you go boy. Argo's Guide to Sword Art Online''. Hearing that name got Neon surprised.

_-Argo? Wow she might be famous... Even now when she isn't here, she is being a great help. I really need to thank her if I ever meet her again-_

Neon grabbed the book from the shopkeeper. The cover was pitch black. The title on the front, though, was written in a gold-ish colour. ''Don't worry about payment kid. This one goes on house to get you started''. ''Thank you Si... Morter, it is a real help'' Neon said whilst staring at the front of the book. Morter started to laugh a bit at Neon's correction. ''You will get the hang of it'' Neon just answered it with a nod as he opened the book up and looked through it. He didn't read anything in particular; there would be enough time for that later. What got him curious was the word that was below the shopkeeper's cursor. 'NPC', stands for Non player character. These were people controlled by the system and no actual people. Neon wasn't too sure what to think of this. He looked up back at the smiling old man. Seeing him made him gave of a smile as well.

_-It doesn't matter if he is computer generated or not. This guy is just like the real people, the only difference being that they are used to living here-_

''Again, thank you for your help'' Neon said whilst keeping up his smile. ''Anytime, my boy'' Both started to shake each others hand. After that Neon started to move towards the door ''See you, Morter. I will come back when I need something'' he started to wave his hand at him. ''Wait, you haven't told me your name yet!''. ''oh...'' he turned back around to look at the shop keeper, embarrassed about forgetting something like that. ''The name is Neon''. ''Well then, hope I see you soon kid. And be careful out there. For some reasons, the adventurers have started to go crazy around town'' Neon had to smirk at that comment ''I will, see you soon''. And with that he left the shop and was standing back outside where the chaos was still going on.

_-These definitely are people like us. They are just not as hopeless as this crowd here...-_

He started to get moving. He needed to find a quiet place where he could study the guidebook carefully in order to be prepared. After a few minutes of searching, he decided to stay just outside the city walls, sitting on the grass, in a cross seated position, where no monsters were. It took him hours to complete the whole book and feel as if he was ready. He read everything, from how to use the menu all the way to what sword skills were. From time to time, Neon would see groups of people leaving the gate of the city right beside him. He was glad that they finally started to realise that crying won't save them. After he was done with the book, Neon successfully managed to place it into his inventory, which he was kind of proud about. It meant that at least some progress was made to say the least.

''Alright, Now I need to first check stats and Sword skills...'' Opening the menu he first went to his stats. His level was at 1, which was no surprise since he didn't kill a single monster to gain those experience points. All his other stats, which were made up of strength, agility, dexterity and vitality, were at the standard 5 points. The fifth stat, luck, had a question mark next to it which just meant that it really was just the pure 'luck' of a player and therefore a joke. He would have to level up in order to increase this, which will result in him getting stronger in the game.

After being finished with the stats, he proceeded to check on the skills that were available to him. When looking through the page, he noticed something strange... In the guide, it was said that there would be two, grey coloured, empty slots where he could select combat skills and one additional slot for Non combat skills, such as blacksmithing, cooking or fishing. Neon, however, spotted two more skill slots. Different to the grey coloured boxes, these were covered in a golden colour. The image inside was greyed out but it looked like a sphere for both slots.

_-Is this normal...? The guide never mentioned anything like this...-_

After looking at it for some time, he shrugged it off and thought that it did not matter right now. Though, he would keep it to himself for now. At least until he meets someone who can explain it to him. After that matter was dealt with, he pressed one of the grey boxes. In front of him appeared a wide variety of different weapon styles. He was interested in weapon styles that used battleaxes or even throwing knifes. But after giving it some thought, he decided that since he was not as experienced, he would take the simple and balanced one hand sword. Now for what goes into the next slot. Aside from weapon styles, he also saw skills which were for searching, hiding and something called battle healing. Just to name a few. He clicked the skill which said battle healing in order to gain more detail about what it does.

''Battle healing. Hp regenerates depending on level. The amount you get when you multiply the skill level by 2 is what you get healed by every 5 seconds. Sounds really useful'' Neon declared and added the skill to his second slot. The remaining question was what he would take as non combat ability for now. ''How is this supposed to be of any help? Let's see... cooking, nope. Blacksmithing maybe? Ah forget it I can just buy the weapons off someone else who does Blacksmithing. Come on give me something appealing...'' He continued to scroll down the list until his eyes got stuck on one of the skills ''Alchemy... Can create helpful potions and deadly poisons... Well, I guess this will do'' with a loud sigh he closed his menu and started to get up from the grass. Back on his feet, he started to stretch a bit, just to then notice that there was no point in doing it since this is not a real body... ''Alright, I am far behind in terms of level''.

_- If I get going now and train for the next couple of days, I might get a real advantage over the people who are still crying within the city walls-_

''I will survive this!'' Neon declared whilst raising his right fist. The guide he read told him about a forest near starting city, where high level monsters would constantly appear. So he started to walk through the green hills, following north east from starting city.

* * *

On his way he kept looking at the landscape of floor one. ''This place would be so beautiful, if it wouldn't be trying to kill me'' a small grin formed on his lips and he started scratching his head with the index finger of his left hand. Whilst continuing, he managed to see a small group of two wolves, just going west from his path, next to a small cliff. ''So we meet again... This time I won't be hiding in a bush'' he declared as he opened his inventory to equip his one handed sword. It materialised on his back in a leather shaft. He looked more carefully at the wolves. They had a yellow coloured cursor, which in this world means simply that they were monsters which would only attack if provoked. Most monsters on floor 1 were like this in order to give the players an easier start. The other colours were green and red. Green meant friendly NPCs. All shop keepers and 'natives' of the settlements would have this colour. Other players would have this coloured cursor as well, as long as they did not commit any crimes. Red was for aggressive NPCs which were monsters that would attack you as soon as you entered their detective radius. Both were level 2 which was above his level but he thought that he could easily take them on if Argo was able to beat double the number of them.

Neon raised his right hand towards the grip of the sword that was slung at his back. It still was the cheap iron sword you would get as a starting player but it would be more than capable of serving its purpose to kill. Slowly drawing the blade out, he started to position himself in a battle stance. With the blade completely drawn out, he grabbed it with both his hands and positioned it in front of him, the blade pointing upwards and slightly towards the wolves. It was strange for him... When both his hands touched the blade, there was just one question he was asking himself ''Why... does this feel so familiar...?'' He glanced downwards at his hands, which were still grabbing the hilt of the sword, in confusion and a sudden rise of confidence made its appearance on him. He felt like he did use something similar in the past... He felt that he could fight any threat that came towards him.

''_Maybe I was some sort of soldier before?''_

Quite honestly Neon never would have believed something like that, since the majority of the people trapped in this world acted like they never had to fight in their entire life. Taking his view up from the sword, now staring directly at the wolves, he decided that he would use the simple sword skill vertical to start it off. From a completely still stance, he suddenly started to accelerate towards the opponents, whilst raising his sword with both hands over his head after he was in reach.

_-I will conquer this world!-_

Now the sword would start glowing and, what was called, the system assist would take over his movement and land a successful hit on the enemy. Neon kept staring at the sword above his head, whilst time for him seemingly stopped. He was waiting for the skill to activate. Only it didn't. Still in motion, he was unable to stop now and also the sword felt too heavy to suddenly slice it towards the ground. Tripping over one of the wolves, he fell on his face, with his sword dropping around two meters in front of him. Lifting his head from the dirt, he stared at the sword ''this is so humiliating... why didn't you work!?''. His complains, which were directed at the sword, were stopped when Neon was suddenly hearing a growl behind him.

_-I guess they are not happy about me tripping over them...-_

Quickly getting up on his knees, Neon reached for his blade. One of the wolves was in the process of attacking him out of feral instinct.

_-Crap I am in trouble-_

In that second, something awakened within him. Instincts were working together with what seemed to him as muscle memory, as the swordsman quickly turned around, still on his knees, and brought up the sword, piercing the attacker right through the throat. Fake blood was streaming out of the wound as the animal let out an agonizing cry. Finally when the hp dropped down to zero, the suffering of the wolf stopped as he blew up into thousands of blue polygons. ''Whoa. This is awesome! Who needs sword skills anyway? I will take everyone on with only my own skill!'' in Neon's eyes you could clearly see determination shine. The second wolf, who didn't seem to be affected at all by just seeing a member of his species getting killed, started to growl at Neon, indicating that it was about to attack. ''Don't worry. I haven't forgotten you. Come on, try it'' he challenged the feral beast with a cocky grin. The monster started to instantly accelerate and used his strong back legs to catapult itself towards Neon. With a swift motion, Neon easily sidestepped the attack and slashed his sword from the bottom, upwards right through the side of the wolf. The monster was still alive, barely in the red zone. Now it was Neon turn to attack. Seeing the stumbling and wound wolf, he thought that it was no threat to him anymore. He walked over to it and stood beside it, whilst it tried to keep itself standing. Neon raised his sword and impaled the wolf from the back, through the stomach. Again the monster blew up into many little particles as it 'died'.

''This isn't all that hard'' he declared and with the last few particles disappearing into thin air, a screen appeared in front of Neon, saying congratulation in a bold text with an exclamation mark. He assumed that this was the 'results' window, which he read about in the guide, that would tell him what he just gained by this fight. Clicking the 'ok' button, he quickly looked through all the information that was collected in front of him. First of all, to his surprise, he already managed to gain a level up which brought him to level two. He was happy at first but then just continued to check what he got.

_-Level two... that is so pathet_ic. The girl from before is probably much higher by now...-

Letting out another tiring sigh, he continued to check on the screen whilst using his right hands index finger as guidance. ''So what do we have here. 57 col. I don't even want to know where the wolves kept it''. Col was the currency in the world of Aincrad and could be used to buy weapons, potions and many more items, just like real money. Next, his eyes wandered to the items he collected which were made up of a couple of pelts and a few wolf teeth. ''I can sell these pelts. No need to keep them since I can craft anything besides potions for now, huh? I might be able to do something in the direction of alchemy with the teeth though'' done with the earnings, he pressed the 'ok' button once more. ''Now for the level up...'' opening up his menu, Neon looked for the stats section. After he reached it, he allocated the 4 skill points, which came with each level up, all into strength.

_-The stronger, the better. I can put points into the other stats later on-_

The swordsman closed his menu and grabbed his face with his right hand ''I really need to get faster at this... I can't just stare at the menu for hours if I could be levelling'' Now finished with all current tasks, he sheathed his sword, carefully, on his back after having it out for the entire time. Staring back at the way he came, Neon tried to figure out which direction he was heading again. After being certain of where the forest was again, his legs started to get moving and he tried to make up for the loss of time by heading there as fast as he could. Initially, the swordsman was running at an unimaginably fast pace, passing multiple cliffs and trees on the field. He turned around to look at starting city, seeing that he was quite a considerable distance away from the safe walls. Though, after just a minute of running, he became extremely tired due to his stamina reaching the zero point. It didn't matter. He reached his destination in record time .The lone swordsman was now standing on top of a stone way right in front of the entry to the forest. Trees were so close together that, because of the leaves which completely covered the sky, barely any light made it through and on to the ground. So far, it didn't seem like anyone else has seen this place yet.

* * *

With his stamina back up, the swordsman took in a deep breath.

_-It looks dangerous but I need to fight higher level monsters in order to make up for the time I spend reading that guide. And it can't be much harder than those wolves with only a little level difference... right?-_

And with that, the cautious boy made his way into the forest with slow steps, looking all around himself in a paranoid manner, as if he was being watched. The place had a dull feeling to it. With the trees taking every bit of light, the place was covered up in darkness which wouldn't allow you to see past a few meters. Unaware, Neon stepped on a tree branch, which resulted in a loud cracking noise that made him flinch ''what the...!''. Quickly scanning the place, he looked nervous as you could see him nearly collapsing from the heart attack he just got. Looking down though, the swordsman identified what cause for the noise.

_-I stepped on a stick... it was just a damn stick-_

Neon took in another deep breath ''Pull yourself together you coward...''. He started to move again, walking past the trees and towards the unknown. Hoping that the mobs would finally show up since that was why the warrior stepped into this misty forest in the first place. Suddenly hearing something jumping at him from his right, his instincts sharpened as he made a forward role from where he was standing in order to dodge the incoming attack. Pulling himself back up, he quickly turned around to take a good look at his opponent.

If you were to close one of your eyes, in a room with just a fraction of the light available here and a small layer of smoke covering your view, then you could argue that this thing looked like an oversized plant. But it looked far more terrifying than that. Even though it was green, had leaves and all the other features of a normal plant, it was the addition of the mouth that made it look so terrifying. The creature had roots at the bottom which were not bound to the earth. The lower body was fairly thin but as you go up it would get bigger until it would round up into a head. The skin was bald except the two, long leaves which reached out of each side of the monster. These probably acted as arms. On the top of the head, they had a small stem reaching into two leaves. The mouth covered half of the 'face' of the plant when it would smile at you in a menacing way. The mouth was filled with the teeth of a predator. Additional to that it does not have any eyes...

All these features combined seemed to scare the living hell out of our brave hero. He had his hands raised, with the flat palm showing towards the monster as if he wanted to push it away. His face started to pale. His expression showed that he would probably have one or two nightmares after this... That is if he manages to survive this encounter. He looked up at the name of the creature, with a weak stare. ''Little Nepent. Level 5'' he whispered, not taking his eyes off the threat. ''H-h-how the fuck is this thing little?! 3 levels above me...''. A voice in his head cut him short. He couldn't identify who it belonged to. Then again, he didn't know that many people in this world.

_-Are you seriously afraid of this?! Did losing your memory turn you into such a coward? You have seen far worse, believe me-_

''Who is talking and what do you mean?!'' Neon yelled and started looking around, checking behind the trees. He all of sudden remembered that this maybe wasn't the time to take his eyes off the monster, just in time to dodge the slash of the Little Nepent by throwing himself back as best as far as he could.

_-The voice is right... In this game I will probably see far worse creatures than this. How am I supposed to beat this castle if I back down from a plant just because it looks different? –_

The Little Nepent jumped high up in the air with its roots and tried to land on top of its prey. The swordsman stopped his thought process and rolled to the side. He managed to dodge the whole mass of the plant but it managed to slash him, with its leave, at his upper right arm. Trying to get back up, he checked his hp status. ''I lost 27% in one little hit?!'' then it appeared to him why.

_-It is 3 whole levels higher than me of course it would do increased damage you moron...-_

He dodged another attempt of the monster, which tried to hit him horizontally with its 'arm', by quickly ducking down.

_-Well then I guess I can't allow myself to get hit-_

With that, he started to collect his focus and reached for the iron sword with his right hand, which was still attached to his back, and was quickly drawing the sword in a swift motion, first going down towards his right side and then back into the battle stance from earlier where he would hold it with both of his hands, the sword pointed at the opponent. ''As long as I hit you often enough whilst avoiding all attacks, you should be no problem'' Neon put on a small grin. The plant jumped up again, trying to use the same attack as before.

_-So predictable...-_

Neon quickly got into a crouched position in order to prepare to jump as well; but it was not aimed into the direction of the monster. With all his force, he catapulted himself to the right towards one of the trees. Mid flight, he turned in order to make his feet hit the tree. From then on he pushed himself off the tree and flied rapidly through the air towards the Little Nepent which was unable to make adjustments, whilst still being stuck in the air, in order to evade the quick attack. The airborne swordsman met the creature mid air and used all the strength in his arms to slash it right through the back which caused a total damage of 13%.The Little Nepent fell, like a stone, with a loud crashing noise into the dirt ground. Dropping back to the earth, Neon landed on with a swift roll back onto his feet and instantly turned around to face the next attack.

_-If I keep on going like this then...-_

His thought process was once again interrupted when he could feel sudden danger approaching from behind him. The agile swordsman jumped back up in the air with a back leap and saw another Little Nepent run at a fast speed which probably tried to tackle him from behind. The attack missed completely and the creature collided with the other Little Nepent which, unfortunately, does not cause damage to either. Landing back on his feet, Neon's expression has tensed ''Evading the attacks of both could become an issue...'' With that the battle between the two mobs and the adventurer continued with Neon constantly dodging incoming attacks whilst taking their health off bit by bit. Still, it was impossible to avoid the attacks of both completely so his health dropped to the red zone. Giving one last vertical slash to the first Little Nepent, it busted up into the usual polygons. He got a level up message but cruel as the developer was, it would not award him with the restoration of his health. Now the swordsman stood opposite to his enemy, holding the sword still with a strong grip of his hands. He looked completely exhausted as his breathing was becoming fast and irregular. Neon was just barely able to keep himself standing, with his stamina getting dangerously close to zero constantly. Collecting the last bit of strength left, he prepared for one final attack, which should defeat the weakened opponent.

_-Come on...! Just one more time!-_

With determination in his eyes, he blasted towards the monster. Both hands grabbing the sword, he raised his weapon and slashed it back down in a vertical attack. When it made contact with the body of the Little Nepent, the sword shattered...Just like a defeated monster. In this moment the time seemed as it has slowed down, as if Satan himself was making fun of him. His expression became completely blank as he saw the sword break bit by bit.

_-The durability... No... I need to get away!-_

Time started to flow again and he tried desperately to get back on the ground. Jumping back from the head of the monster onto the ground, he barely managed to land on his feet. He looked up at the plant and saw that it was preparing for another attack. It didn't loose any health from the failed attack. The swordsman turned around as fast as he could.

_-Need to make a run for it...-_

When turning, he took sight of another 2 Little Nepents. His expression didn't change. He stood still looking blankly at the terrifying plants. For one last time, the swordsman tried to force a grin onto his face.

''I guess I am dying here then huh...?Prepared for anything...'' Neon forced out a quiet laugh, thinking about the irony, whilst facing his end

The exhaustion started to take over his pained muscles as he started to fall forward whilst losing consciousness.

_-At least I died fighting...-_

_Without a warning, the voice ,from before the fight, shouted inside his head._

_-You are pathetic. And to think that I am part of you-_

Then pure darkness overtook all his senses.

* * *

**Alright took a little longer than I thought. I thought that the last chapter was a little short so I tried to get in a little more for this one. **

**I decided to make the world of SAO in this story a little more realistic. For example the NPCs will act as actual people rather than having set dialogue options. Players will also be able to feel pain. Other than that, don't expect me to go into detail with all the various skills and stats for the players. I don't feel like there is a need for it. I will of course mention from time to time what the skills are that Neon has and of course his level.**

**Hope you enjoyed it even though it is quite horrible ._.**


	4. Chapter 3 Forming a Party

**The Legend of Neon**

**Chapter 3 Forming a Party**

_Location Unknown_

(First person viewpoint)

_-...-_

''Hey, Neon get up you lazy coward''

-...wait, what was that?-

''If you don't get moving, I will throw you off the platform. Then you will be dead for real''

I was lying flat on my back on, what felt like, a cold stone path. Slowly I started to force my eye lids apart to see what was happening right now. This is weird. Am I not supposed to be dead? Did I get saved by someone? Opening my eyes didn't seem to do anything. What I saw above me was still pure darkness. Suddenly the head of a person appeared right above me who made me flinch. Instantly getting up from the floor, I was now in a sitting position, holding my head with my right hand and staring at the place in front of me. My eyes widened when I saw what this place was. Around me there was nothing but darkness. The only thing existing was this round platform here I was sitting on. It had a symbol which somewhat looked like a Ying and Yang symbol, with one colour being black and the other white. The circumference of the symbol was surrounded by a blue ring. And there was a picture of a person on it, who was lying all across the whole platform on his back. That person was... he looked like... me? I pulled my legs closer to my torso and started to hold on to them with both my hands.

-What is this place...? Is this how it looks like when you die in SAO?-

''I gave you a hint before didn't I? You are not dead yet''

-Eh? That voice again...-

Suddenly it came to me why exactly I just flinched. I started to stand up on to my feet to face the person who this voice was belonging to. Turning around, I was able to see the person. I didn't really expect someone like this. The guy who was staring at me in a mocking manner had medium in length, sliver white hair which was kept from the left to the right. His facial expression looked fairly young considering that he wasn't too short of a guy. His eyes had a dark red colour and were staring in my direction as if he would be focusing the darkness behind me. ''Wh-who are you?'' At first I stuttered a bit but caught myself. I should really avoid looking like I was going to cry if he keeps looking at me. ''Ouch! That one went right through my heart man!'' the stranger hugged his upper torso and acted as if he was in pain. In the next second said stranger started to laugh like a little child who just played a prank on someone.

-What is with this guy...? I guess I am dreaming then. Or this is a very special hell, designed just for me-

The laughing stopped and I could see the guy staring back at me again. ''This isn't a dream little Neo''

-Did he just read my mind?-

I was speechless. This guy was starting to creep me out. He probably knew that too... ''Come on Neo I am just kidding with you. Were friends right?'' This didn't really help the uneasy feeling I had. ''Do I know you...?'' He started to walk towards me. At first I was taking slow steps back but he reached me faster than I could back down. Really, there was nowhere I could run to anyway. Standing right in front of me, I saw that he had the exact same body height as me as he we looked at each other at eye level. He raised his right hand and placed it on my left shoulder. ''Having memory problems, eh buddy? Well let me just say that we are old friends''. This caught my attention ''Old friends? So you know who I am!?'' I looked at him, demanding an answer. ''Yeah I do...''

_-Great, I can finally find ou...-_

''...but I can't tell you''

_-Wha... Are you kidding me!?-_

''I am definitely not kidding you, little Neo'' He started to grin at me. I got enough of this. I raised my right arm and grabbed him by the collar of the jacket he was wearing. ''TELL ME!''. His amused expression changed into a blank but serious one. ''I can't''

_-Why...? Why can't you?!-_

''Because I am a part of you, idiot'' He said, with more force in his voice. ''If I were to tell you now in the state you are in, it would most likely kill you from the inside. You are not supposed to know it. If you are really so keen on knowing then you will have to wait for your memory to come back bit by bit''

_-This doesn't make sense!-_

''It probably doesn't to you. You know what this place is? This is your soul we are standing on. Your real body is currently unconscious which is why I am able to talk to you right now'' my grip on his collar started to soften and I finally allowed my hand to drop dead beside me. At the same time, his expression started to get as amused as it was before. '' There is one piece of memory about me that I could show you. Seems like your memory is starting to slowly come back eh?''

_-Wait what?-_

In an instant the place around me changed completely as if I was teleported. The area around me looked blurry at first but soon I could make out everything in my field of view. I was standing right in front of a large rock which could have been a cliff but it I couldn't tell since it blocked my view completely. I was unable to move a limb. I could only observe through my eyes, if they were even my eyes. The view wasn't very pretty.

_-What the hell...?-_

What I could see in front of me was a person... No it wasn't just a person. It was the white haired guy from a second ago... But this was different.

He was wearing iron armour with a strange design. His eyes looked so... empty. Not like that girl I met in starting city but rather empty in the sense of... dead. Even though his eyes did not fit it, he was smiling softly right at me. I started to move my view further down. The view completely horrified me...

_-No...-_

What I saw was me holding a sword... a sword which impaled the white haired stranger. It was sticking right through his chest, where the heart of a human is located at. The sword doesn't seem like a conventional sword... but I don't really care right now. I was in shock, trying to deal with what I saw. The blood of the young man dripped all over the lower torso of his armour and the sword I was wielding. It seemed like the weapon penetrated him all the way, even nailing him to the grey rock behind him.

-_Did I do this...? No... NO!-_

The way he looked at me... I felt guilt building up inside of me. Then suddenly without me doing anything, 'I' started to raise my hands from the sword and positioned the palms of the blood drenched hands right in front of myself. ''WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME!? I heard the sad and agonized shout of myself.

''I don't want this... I NEVER WANTED THIS!''

And with that, out of nowhere I felt like I was being forcefully dragged out of this nightmare...

* * *

_Location Floor 1 outside of Horunka forest_

(Third person viewpoint)

''Why, exactly did we save this guy again, Diabel?'' The world of Aincrad started to fall to its first night, with the standard time getting close to 20:00 pm. At the edge of the Horunka Forest, you could see three different figures at the side of the road. One of these figures was Neon. It seemed like he was unconscious though. One of the other two was sitting next to Neon, and looked exhausted. Said person was the one called Diabel. He had blue hair, which was tied thick and loose beside his face, which was slightly lighter than Neon's hair. Additional to that he had blue eyes and the starter shirt he was wearing had the colour blue whilst his trousers had the usual brown colour to it. ''We couldn't just let him die there Kibaou''

The third person, Kibaou, was standing upright besides both, Neon and Diable, who were down on the flat grass. He had short, brown and somewhat awkwardly spiky hair. He had brown eyes and though he was short, he seemed like he was solidly build other than Diabel who looked rather normal. ''This is a death game now remember? You shouldn't even bother with playing hero. Those pesky Nepents could have been a problem if there were more than just two'' Diabel looked at Kibaou from his seated position ''who said I can't be a hero, hm? '' Diabel gave back with a grin. ''And besides, we will never clear this game if we let other players die left and right. Or do you intend to solo the floor boss?'' Kibaou just gave a disapproving snort and started to move his view from the distant Horunka Village to Neon, who he now glared at. ''What level is this guy anyway? I don't think this forest is safe for anything below level 4''

''I don't want this... I never...''

Now Diabel also moved his attention to the stranger. ''Is he having a nightmare? Is that even possible in this game?'' Kibaou just gave a shrug and placed both his arms crossed over his chest. ''No idea, I didn't even know that you can get unconscious here''. ''You can't'' Kibaou stared up at Diabel ''How do you know?''. Suddenly Diabel seemed nervous ''Eh, I am fairly sure that I have read it somewhere before. Getting unconscious here would most likely mean that you are not feeling fit in the real world''. Spiky hair stared at the ground and started to think about something ''Huh, poor idiot should not have played in a bad condition in the first place. In the case of a serious illness, he might not be able to make it depending on how long we are stuck in this god forsaken castle. Oi, Diabel, are you even listening?'' Said swordsman glanced up at Kibaou after staring thoughtfully at the grass. ''Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Never mind it'' Kibaou was curious but he shrugged it off, thinking that he could ask him out about it at another time''

''Well, we should get going. Don't you think Diabel? We could get attacked here anytime so try to wake this guy up'' On this, Diabel stood up and walked over to the unconscious Neon. He crouched down beside him and started shaking his shoulders to try and wake him up. After a few minutes with no success, Diable directed a question at the now also sitting Kibaou ''Hey, do you think that it is even possible to wake one another up?''. Giving it some thought, he replied ''No idea. If he doesn't wake up we will have to l...'' Kibaou stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that the Neon started to open his eyes to observe where he was. As his brain was starting up, his thoughts started to overwhelm him.

-_What was that...? What the hell was that! ... Am I not supposed to be dead?-_

He started to shoot up to a seating position after lying on the cold grass. He pulled his legs closer and started to hug them tightly. The headaches from before returned. A quick shot of pain forced him to let go of his legs and hold his head with both his hands, at the same time releasing an awful shout ''arGH**HHH**!'' It became louder and louder until... The foot of someone suddenly collided with Neon's face and send him flying back a considerable distance. ''Can you shut up already?!''. It did not hurt as much but being sent back like that isn't very comfortable either. Neon was now lying on his back again, holding his face as if it was bleeding. Noticing that his headache has suddenly vanished, probably because his thoughts were interrupted, he lifted his hands and stared at them for a while, just to then lay them down by his side. A stressed sigh left him. ''Thanks. I guess...''. He tried to ignore the nightmare he had for now. It was just a dream anyway. Using his arms, he pushed himself back up into a seated position and looked at the two who he guessed were his 'saviours'. One was tall with medium length blue hair and the other was small, but strong looking, with brown... cactus?

-_What happened to his head? Or is cactus just more popular than I am thinking?-_

Neon tried to hold his laughter back, but that did not escape Kibaou ''Hey! Do I look funny for you?! It seems like that kick was n...'' Before Kibaou was able to kick Neon again, Diabel grabbed onto his shoulder whilst Neon was trying to raise his hands in defeat after seeing the enraged cactus head. ''Come on, don't take it so seriously'' Now Diable looked to Neon ''Hey there, nice to meet you. My name is Diabel and this hot headed guy goes by Kibaou''. ''You better remember it!'' Kibaou snapped at Neon. ''Alright, sorry for being so disrespectful at first... My name is Neon'' Neon got up to his feet and eyed Kibaou and Diabel. ''I guess you two helped me out of there, huh?''. ''Yeah, we saved your ass from those mobs. You better be grateful'' like on demand, Neon tilted his hand down with both his hands by his side ''Thank you two for saving me...'' he barely stuttered out. Both, Diabel and Kibaou could see that something was wrong with him ''Hey no worries. Are you alright? It is uncommon to fall unconscious in a VR game'' Diabel asked. Neon just gripped his face with his right hand.

-_So it wasn't due to my low hp? Strange...-_

Seeing that his saviours were waiting for a response, he quickly said ''I have no idea really''. Kibaou eyed him suspiciously after that response ''what level are you anyway?''. ''Ehhh... good question'' Neon proceeded to open his stat menu just to see that he was level 3. ''3...?'' He said slowly, thinking whether it was a good or bad thing. The two just started to stare at him in disbelieve after they heard it. ''You are a complete retard. Seriously do you want to die this early on?''

-_So it was bad... figured-_

''I'm sorry... I am fairly lost in this game'' He thought about telling them that he lost his memory but really there was no point in it anymore. He knew where he was and that he had to get out. No one here is going to tell him who he is. Neon could see Kibaou give out a sigh whilst holding his forehead. ''Well you need to be more careful then. It shouldn't be attempted to solo this forest unless you are at least level 6. Have you got one of the game guides? I would guess so since you knew the way here''. Neon let the guide materialise in his hands ''Yeah, I do have one though I didn't want to waste time reading everything whilst other people were alre...''. Kibaou interrupted him forcefully which made Neon jump back a few steps, being afraid of the guy who kicked him across the field a second ago ''you moron! If you try to rush it in this world then you are dead meat to begin with!''.

-_He is right... but I don't want to be useless. I want to be one of the hero's who clear the game... Is that really too much to ask for?-_

Neon's expression started to grow rather depressed and he looked away from the two swordsmen in front of him... As if he could read minds, Diable could feel that Neon wants to help out in getting out of this world as fast as possible. Suddenly he got an idea. ''Hey Neon, would you like to join our party? Our objective is to give hope to the players trapped in Aincrad by doing our best in clearing this damn game'' Surprised by this, Neon stared at Diabel in disbelieve. ''Eh what the hell Diabel?! We can't babysit this noob...'' Neon ignored the rest of Kibaou's complains whilst remembering what a party was.

A party in sword art online is a group of up to 6 players, where items and xp are shared in between the members. that's about all he knew to be honest...

-_Though I think being in a party would be far smarter. Since you could get attacked at any given time, except of course in safe zones, a few buddies to back you up will definitely help. A bit of company would also contribute to keeping me sane. Diabel seems like a nice guy. Kibaou... doesn't as much-_

Lost in his thoughts, Neon missed most of the argument of the other two but he decided to listen for the rest of it. ''We currently are only a party with 3 members. If we really want to make a difference in clearing this game, then we need more reliable people. Neon here shows some promise since he was able to take down a little Nepent with a considerable level difference''

The compliments from Diabel kind of surprised Neon and caused him to feel somewhat proud all of sudden. But then he remembered that he got completely annihilated afterwards. The effect of the praise wearing off, Neon wanted to know how they knew that he killed one. It should have disappeared quickly after death. Maybe they watched him fight. ''How do you know that I killed one? It should have disappeared right?'' ''Well when the player fails to collect the loot of a mob, it stays at the point where it died'' Diabel explained carefully ''we just combined one and one which concluded that you should have killed at least one, if not more, Little Nepents''.

''Well, I got nearly killed. Without you guys I would have been done for''. ''Exactly, he is still a noob; one that could slow us down. As a part of this party, I want to make sure that we get to the top and lead the other players'' Kibaou raised his right hand and pointed it at said noob ''He doesn't even seem to know any of the basics!''

-_Why thank yo_u dear Kibaou for telling me that _I am completely useless...-_

Neon's expression became soured until his gaze met Diabel who seemed to be deeply in thought. Either that or scratching his chin whilst staring into the sky was standard for him. When he noticed that both, Kibaou and Neon, were staring at him and patiently waiting for him to answer, he put an embarrassed smile on and gave the solution he thought of ''Neon maybe isn't the most informed RPG player but he does have the skill to make up for it. We could easily teach him the basics. However, I won't make this decision if you really disapprove''. Kibaou just locked both his arms together in front of his chest and closed his eyes whilst whispering something along the lines of 'horrible idea' and 'he is going to get us killed'.

-_You are such a kind and understanding person Kibaou-_

''Alright, I am fine with it'' he looked at me for a second and then sighed whilst scratching his head. This really surprised Neon quite a bit. Doesn't he think that it is a 'horrible idea'? ''But if he lacks then we are dropping him, alright?'' Kibaou shot a serious expression at Diabel who then raised both his hands in front of him, probably not wanting to make him mad. Just then Neon remembered that he didn't agree yet.

''Hey, you guys, I haven't really decided yet if I really want to join up'' the two didn't seem to quite understand the reason why Neon wouldn't want to join up in a party after nearly being killed because he was travelling alone. They shot him confused expressions with Kibaou somewhat glaring ''Do you really want to die that bad? I hope you remember that this isn't a game anymore'' Neon was kind of taken back by that. They were right, if he wouldn't have been saved by those two then his brain would have been fried by now. The thought alone was terrifying.

-_I already accepted death when I fell unconscious... but when I think about what could have happened... Kibaou probably is right-_

Diable easily saw what Neon was thinking about and tried to convince him ''we are of course not forcing you. Well to be honest I am pretty sure that Kibaou here would even be against it'' He made a gesture with his right hand pointing at Kibaou. ''However, he is right. In this world you are unlikely to survive if you don't have people you can rely on'' Diabel gave Neon a reassuring grin and gave him his right hand to shake ''so what do you say? Want to team up at least until the second floor?'' The calm and confident aura that surrounded Diabel was convincing. Neon stared at the hand that was offered to him in a friendly gesture. Finally he thought that it would be nice to have someone like Diable to help him out. He could get used to Kibaou too even if his some of his words are dispiriting. So with that he shook Diables hand. Diable seemed delighted at this.

After they shook their hands they, a message appeared in front of Neon asking him to join a party. He pressed the accept button and soon the names of his new party members appeared below his Hp bar. Other than Kibaou and Diabel, there was another name which appeared. A person named 'Lind'. Neon decided to not ask for now as he would most likely meet him later on. They additionally added each other as friends afterwards to be able to send messages and keep long range communication. Although Kibaou protested at first, he approved it when Neon said that he would definitely not be a complete nuisance by spamming him with messages.

The party got themselves ready to get away from the forest for now. ''Lind should be waiting in Horunka Village right now'' Diabel was currently checking his messages to see if he received any from Lind. ''You should have seen Lind's name appear below your Hp bar as well as ours'' Kibaou pointed in the general direction of where he thought the Hp bar of Neon would be. What he probably didn't know was that his estimate was completely off...

Diabel closed his menu and moved towards Neon and Kibaou ''Lind is another friend of ours. Don't worry he isn't like Kibaou, you will probably like him'' Kibaou didn't seem to be aggravated by this at all. He actually smiled at that comment ''Yeah you probably just like him because of how highly he thinks of you 'oh brave knight' '' he said the last part in a mocking tone. Diable's sour expression implied that he most likely hated the cactus head for that comment ''what is that supposed to mean?''. Now looking at how helpless he seemed, Neon and Kibaou blasted into a sudden but short laughter ''Never mind, I didn't mean to upset you'' the Kibaou added after catching himself again. Diabel gave out a discouraged sigh ''Well he wanted to give a quest back that was on a time limit. He actually helped us getting you out of there too'' Neon listened to this carefully.

-_Then I will have to thank him as well... A time limited quest? Now talking of quests... It would probably have been smart to take some in starting city... oh come on why did I even read that guide if I ignore the majority of the content-_

He lightly slapped his forehead in frustration of how many mistakes he was doing just on the first day alone. He needs to improve. Hopefully his new party will help him. They seem very experienced with this game. ''I guess we should be going then. You ready Neon?'' he was pulled out of his thoughts and looked at Kibaou and Diabel who already walked a few steps towards where their destination was located.

-_Hopefully it will get better from now on...—_

He joined up with both and they made their way back through the plain grass land, towards Horunka Village ''let's get going''.

* * *

**I should really avoid throwing out a chapter like this without even checking most of the text... But it was late and I didn't have anything in the past 8 days or so. And again I hope it wasn't too horrible**


	5. Chapter 4 First Floor Boss Room

**The Legend of Neon**

**Chapter 4 First Boss Found**

_Floor 1 Dungeon, December 1__st__ 14pm Aincrad Standard Time_

(First person viewpoint)

''Great, I don't know where the hell I am...'' Looking around me, all I could see were the dark corridors of this miserably dark dungeon. At almost every corner of this labyrinth, you could find multiple pathways you could take. It was one annoying maze. Best of all is that whilst you were trying to look for the holy vault, that is the first boss room, monsters would come and ruin your day. I hated this place, really, but since it was vital for the players of Aincrad to finally make progress in beating this game, good hearted people like Diabel thought that we needed to motivate them somehow. It was really necessary though. Since we have made next to no progress in this past month, people are starting to think that we will never get out of this game. People started to calm down but not in the best way. They may not run wild in Starting City anymore but the ones who lost hope have completely barricaded themselves. When I think about it now, it is understandable really. Roughly 2000 of the players already died. 2000! That is a fifth of the population lost even before completing one percent of the game. If it wasn't for my party, I would either sit in starting city like the other whiners, be dead or maybe even worse. Death had its impact on the people. Players that would see their best friend die right in front of them would soon follow by jumping off the edge of the island. On the first few days, you even had those prophets who would tell everyone that if they died, they would wake up in the real world again. Curse those fools. If I could, I would strangle them to death by myself for leading so many innocent people to the abyss. I would say that at least 80 percent of the deaths were suicide; it is a complete pain to think about it.

I was still wandering around through the empty hallways. The walls were made out of rectangular, grey rocks. Here and there you could see a half burned ribbon hanging off and a torch every few meters but other than that, they were undecorated with the exception of all the cracks, if you count them as decoration. It was dark to the point where even the torches wouldn't help a lot. Don't even get me started on the smell... This is a so called videogame, right? Why did the creator feel such an urge to implement a smell which would probably kill me if I were to inhale it in real life? Talking of real life, I still don't remember a thing. I have kept it a secret for now. Well saying that it is a secret would be an exaggeration because of that one person who knows of it... I haven't seen Argo since that day but I heard plenty about her... How she is, what they call, an information broker who would sell you any piece of information for the right price. For all I know, she could be selling that info about me for some ridiculously low price which means that anyone can access that information if they really wanted to. Luckily, I have kept myself in the background whilst it was mostly Diabel and Lind who gained some fame over this short time. That meant that no one would give a crap about me.

I wiped my forehead with the back of my right hand whilst simultaneously letting out a loud sigh. ''Where are you guys...''. By the way, this was not the first time I got lost. Like I said earlier, this place is a damn maze. Maybe I shouldn't try to scout ahead in the undiscovered parts. The map is useless here since you first have to discover the locations for it to actually show on your map. That or you could buy the map data. That is if you are seriously willing to pay thousands of col for information that you could easily get by yourself. Back to the topic, for the past month I have been travelling together with Diable, Kibaou and Lind. Diable didn't change as much since we met other than his attire which was now made up of an iron armour set on his chest, shoulders, arms and shins with the rest of his clothing being blue below the armour. He was using a sword and a shield to be that shining knight that he wanted to be. He had kind of a hero complex which isn't necessarily bad since he was still a great leader. Kibaou was still the charismatic, kind and friendly person like the day I met him. Haha, I shouldn't really be so hard to him. Believe it or not, he can be a decent guy once you get to know him. Took me a while though to become a good enough fighter for him to stop shouting at me and calling me a noob. Yeah I know now what that means. His look didn't change except for the fancy looking leather armour that covered his back and chest. Other than that, the stuff he was wearing just had a higher level than the starter gear. Lind was the last person that I met for this party. Kibaou mentioned something about Lind thinking highly of Diabel and yeah he acted like he was a bit too attached to him but none the less, he was just as good of a person as Diabel. He had medium length brown hair, with some hanging by the side of his face and the rest on top in a fluffy ball... thingy? I really have no idea what I am supposed to think of that. I laughed more at it than at Kibaous hair that time. Fortunately, he didn't try to kill me but I did have to make an apology to him. He had the exact same clothes as Diabel except for the iron chest plate. Well the only reason he didn't have that was his lack of col. Instead he wore the cheaper bronze armour.

You are probably asking yourself what sort of useless armour I am wearing. Well you can't really call it armour since I am really just wearing white trousers with orange lines additional to a blue robe similar to Diabel. The defence stats were downright horrible. Currently I am level 8 and most of the monsters on an equivalent level can easily kill me in 2-4 weak hits. I have put all my stat points, gained by the level ups, into agility and strength with only a few going into dexterity. Completely ignoring vitality, which made me a fairly squishy fighter on the battlefield with the weak armour, Kibaou used to call me a glass canon. That was someone who would be able to dish out huge amounts of damage; with the drawback being that messing up will result in certain death. For that reason most players avoid a build like that since it was like hugging the grim reaper.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I was suddenly surrounded by 4 kobold fighters, which spawned in a blue light out of nowhere. They didn't have any sort of special armour other than the green looking blankets that covered them up except some of their exposed red skin. They were about head and shoulders smaller than me and the weapon of choice for all of them seemed to be a simple and short dagger. Out of instinct and without losing any time, my right hand shot to the Anneal blade that was strapped to my back. It probably was the best sword you could get on this floor even though the quest for it was a fairly low level one. Drawing the blade out, I clutched the handle with both of my hands with the blade showing towards the kobold that was standing right before me. ''Four kobold fighters level 9 at once. Damn, this could be a pain'' a grin made its way on my face and I prepared for the coming battle.

The kobold to my right decided to start the assault by sprinting straight at me, with his blade raised and ready to attack. I let go of the sword with my left hand to swing it up forcefully to my side, catching the attackers' blade just in time. The force of the counter caused the kobold to stagger back. I used the opportunity to side step to the left of my opponent and used my right arm to swing the sword right through the neck of the monster. It was disappointing that the head wouldn't fly off but since the damage output of that attack wasn't the best, I could only see a crimson red line appear at the spot where I hit the creature. Though it didn't matter because the hit wasn't too weak either; the health of the Kobold was already in the red zone from that critical hit. Without giving the monster any time to escape, I again hold on to my weapon with both hands and gave a strong thrust, impaling the kobold right through the torso. The health was draining down towards the zero mark. However, a sword that impaled an opponent would only result in extremely slow damage over time.

_-Shit! Terrible choice... Terrible choice!-_

The mistake quickly became clear to me as I started to panic. I could see one of the other monsters trying the same attack as the impaled kobold before and I could even hear a sword skill being activated by another one behind me. I desperately attempted to draw the blade out but it was too late to dodge both incoming attacks. My body tensed up, expecting the impact of the blades and the consequences that probably came with it. The kobold in my view was now only a few meters out of attack range.

_-Please let me survive this...!-_

Suddenly, an all too familiar cactus head came flying into my view, with a bright, purple shining sword and slashed the attacking kobold, killing it in a single hit. ''Why, do I always have to save your sorry butt?''. Ignoring the clear insult, relief started to push out all the tension that built up previously. Just then, the kobold that was impaled by my sword finally exploded into the usual death animation. Kibaou, who had to save me quite a few times during our adventures, appeared to my side ''don't lose focus and take them down quickly. Something important came up''. I gave him a quick nod though with a confused expression as to what he meant.

We quickly took out the remaining two kobolds, which were no challenge at all for both of us together, and discarded the result screen without giving it any attention for now. ''This was the seventh time I had to save you now'' his expression told me that he probably was quite pissed but I didn't care as I walked over to him casually whilst putting my anneal blade back into its place ''It's nice to see you too''. The sound of my mocking voice already managed to set him off ''is that all you have to say?!'' He raised his sword up to my throat which made me hold up my hands in reflex to symbolise my defeat. Kibaou's usual dreading look would feel like a killing laser if it wasn't for his hair which really did quite ruin it. ''I am sorry!'' lucky for me he accepted that pathetic sounding excuse and also sheathed the blade on his back. I lowered my hands and breathed in deeply.

_-This guy can't take any jokes...-_

''Want a good tip on 'how to survive longer in Aincrad'? Don't piss me off anywhere outside of a save zone''. Holding my head in frustration, I got curious about what was so important ''so what is so important?''. With him staring at me like that, I can guess that it was dead serious. ''We found it'' all this answer did was releasing more confusion and curiosity. ''What do you mean by 'we found it'?''. I should really have expected what it was ''the door to this floors boss dumbass, what do you think?''.

_-What?! That means we have finally come closer! And it ONLY took a month...-_

It felt good to think about it though. Now we could raise hope for everyone which again would lead to more people fighting in the dungeons. Just like an excited little child, I started to run into a random direction without thinking first ''Well then what are we waiting for!? Let's go find Diabel and Lind!''. It took me some time and an enraged Kibaou to notice that I was probably running into the opposite direction...

* * *

(Floor 1 Boss room door)

''Are we already there...?'' I and Kibaou were on our way to the location where they apparently found the boss room. We were walking for at least 20 minutes now, including some mobs here and there, and I was growing impatient which didn't go unnoticed by Kibaou ''could you just be quiet?! I am tired of you asking over and over again'' he made a threatening gesture by pointing his right fist towards me. I just moved both my hands to the back of my hand as if I didn't care ''Alright then at least tell me how much longer it is. Are you sure that this is the right way?''. ''Of course this is the right way! Ever heard of map data?''. ''Alright sorry that I even asked'' I raised the palm of my right hand as small apology. Just shortly after it was Kibaou who broke the silence ''Are you still avoiding sword skills?''. I couldn't stand it when he asked me that.

After I met my party members, they told me why I couldn't use sword skills. As stupid as it sounds, when you use a type of weapon, you are supposed to use it the right way in order to be able to activate sword skills. You could still attack if you didn't but it would do less damage unless you can actually fight without the system assist, which would guide you attacks automatically when activating a sword skill. Long story short, because I constantly use both hands for a weapon that is intended to be used in one hand with a shield, the system won't activate the sword skills for me. I tried to change my habit but I just couldn't fight like that since it would completely throw me out of my fighting style. I thought about it that I probably practised some sort of swordsmanship but Lind told me that he never heard of a style that was even remotely close to mine. I wish I remembered something... anything... but even the headaches and that weird nightmare I had that day I fell unconscious in the Horunka Forest have never returned. ''I told you that I can't fight with sword skills. I am doing far better without them'' he didn't seem satisfied with that answer as he let out a deep sigh. Since his back was turned to me, I was unable to really see what he was thinking about ''at some point, the damage you do won't be enough if you keep fighting like that''. With a growl I declared ''I will be fine''. Kibaou quickly turned around to look at me and shrugged his shoulders ''whatever''.

With that our little chat ended and I started to scan the area with my searching skill. Oh yeah, over the level ups I have gotten two new skills. One is the searching skill increases the range at which you can detect... anything really, reaching from enemies to items. The second one I got was cooking... I really didn't want to take that but the non combat skills are useless to me overall so I thought that I might as well take cooking which may allow me to eat some decent stuff later on. I haven't used it at all yet but I will. I am glad however that I took alchemy. It came in extremely handy to make potions not only for myself but the whole party. Well for Kibaou it was the only thing I was useful for. Ingredients were hard to find but usually, I could buy everything I need from Morters shop who also gives me a discount which is very nice of him. I mean considering that he is an NPC. The more I live in this world, the more the NPCs seem like normal people to me. I don't know much about programming but I have to respect Kayaba for being able to practically create a different universe with own natives.

Suddenly my searching skill detected the presence of two other players. ''Finally there'' I heard Kibaou say. Moving right around the next corridor, I could spot both, Diabel and Lind leaning against a... incredibly large iron gate. You could see two large fire candles at both sides of the gate which illuminated the entire hall before the boss room. ''oi! Neon, took you some time'' Diabel waved his right hand at me and Kibaou whilst showing his usual friendly smile. ''Got lost again didn't you? You were next to us in one second and in the next you just disappeared into nowhere'' Lind pushed himself from the gate and walked towards us. Diabel followed shortly after. I scratched my head in an embarrassed way ''Sorry guys... You know how impatient I am. Can't just wait for you all day''. Kibaou came closer to me and slapped the back of my head which threw me down on my knees ''and who was it now that found the entrance?''. I couldn't just ignore that so I stood up whilst giving my head a small massage just to then turn at Kibaou ''what the hell was that for?!'' I raised my fist to threaten him. ''I just felt like it'' I could see a mocking smile form on his face whilst he simultaneously shrugged his shoulders ''you just felt like it? That is funny, idiot. Want a good tip on how to survive longer in Aincrad, cactus head?''

_-Ups. Probably shouldn't have said that-_

Just like expected, Kibaou looked as if he wanted to kill me. He drew his sword out from its sheath and instantly used the vertical sword skill on me which I dodged just barely. Maybe he did want to kill me. ''Are you crazy?! That could have killed me'' without giving it a second thought, my hand went to the grip of my sword and then... ''Guys, could you please calm down? We have got something important here to discuss'' it was Diabel who moved between us to stop the conflict. I wanted to give in but just to make sure; I waited for Kibaou to sheath his weapon first. To my surprise, he did give in first so my hand also left the hilt of my blade and went to the pocket of my trousers. Diabel took a breath of relief, seeing that he was able to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand ''Alright, let's start again''. He made the usual hand motion to open his menu and started to click around in the empty air, where his hidden menu was supposed to be. People generally didn't allow others to see their menu whether they were friends or not. I definitely wouldn't blame him since I did the same. Can't allow the cactus head to find something he could use against me, can I?

Diable drew the attention of us back with a small cough, which made all three of us glance at our leader expectantly ''I have thought about what the best course of action would be, but of course I would first like to hear you guys out on your opinions''. ''You are our leader Diabel, we trust that you have a good plan in mind for defeating this boss'' Lind gave Diabel a thumbs up. Yes, I certainly thought the same way. He didn't disappoint us even a single time. Hell, he even saved my life. I finally raised my left hand weakly as if I wanted to announce something ''He's right Diabel, come on what did you have in mind?'' I could see Diabel smiling back at us, most likely happy that we trusted him that much ''Thanks guys. Well, I thought that we should contact an information broker whose job will be to announce a strategy meeting in Tolbana, where we could announce that we have finally found the Boss room and even prepare a proper raid party for it'' he punched his hid chest, where his iron armour was, and made a determined expression ''with this we can finally bring hope to those who are waiting in starting city! We need to show them that it isn't impossible to beat this game!''. When he started off, he sounded like a shy little kid who tried to ask for some candy. But it seemed that after we motivated him a bit, he turned it around to an inspiring speech.

_-I guess we motivated him quite a bit eh? Ha its better that way, we need people like him to lead. I could never talk like that...-_

Soon, Lind and Kibaou found ourselves clapping our hands after that speech. He did look glad though ''so you guys agree?'' he looked at us expectantly. ''You still have to ask that?'' I mean, what does he expect? We applauded to him. Now Kibaou also finally added to the chat ''Of course we agree. I would never have thought about that. Honestly I think that we should get this meeting in as fast as possible, so we can take that boss out soon''. Diabel couldn't hide how delighted he was about our support, when he made the motion to open his menu again ''alright, then I will message Argo the rat about this. She will surely spread the information quickly for an acceptable fee''

_-Argo hm? I wish I'd see her again just so I could finally thank her... and make sure that she doesn't loose a word about my amnesia. Not like anyone would care-_

After Diabel finished typing around in the empty air, he gave us a thumbs up ''She will do it! I think we should go back so we can rest for the upcoming day. Make sure you are ready''. ''You bet we will. With our levels, the boss should be no issue at all'' Lind commented whilst giving Diabel a high five.

''Then let's get the hell out of here. The smell is killing me'' I waved my hand around my nose to put emphasis on what I said. And with that, we left the dungeon and made our way to the Inn we usually slept in. It was a long day and the next few would be even longer...

* * *

_Location Unknown _

(First person viewpoint)

-_I remember this feeling...-_

My eyes were closed. I couldn't bring myself to open them because I was afraid... afraid of what I would see. This is like the dream I had when I feel unconscious a month ago. Though, right now I can't move at all. I just felt the familiar, cold sensation. I remember that I just went to bed... All of a sudden, I could hear someone talking. But it didn't seem to be directed at me.

''Okay, let's get started, people! My name is Diabel. I like to consider my job as knight''

That wasn't all I heard but the rest was made up of multiple people shouting something inaudible. That wasn't what I was focusing on right now though.

-_Diabel is there? Did I fall asleep during the meeting? That doesn't explain though why I can't move or feel anything. Maybe I should just...-_

Before I could reconsider if I wanted to take a peek or not, another voice broke my thought process, a female sounding voice.

''I came here because... I want to pay for the sins in my past''

I couldn't order that voice to anyone I knew. Yet, it sounded so familiar...

-_Come on. Show some courage-_

I opened my eyes. The sudden light somewhat distracted me after looking at my closed eye lids for some time. I could see that it was night and I was sitting on a bench in a dark street that was only somewhat illuminated by a lamp above me. Next to me, I could see another person sitting on the bench... the lack of light made it hard to identify the person. She definitely was female.

-_What is happening here?-_

Before I was able to get a better view on the person, the place around me blurred out. As if someone switched the tv channel, the setting around me changed completely. In the next second, I saw myself around other players, at the entry of the boss room that I saw today... And at the door I could see no one other than Diabel. I was standing next to Kibaou and Lind. Every player had his attention set on the Knight standing in front of them ''Listen up, everyone. I have only one thing to say. Let's win'' The last thing I saw, was Diabel balling his fist with a determined mindset. Then the same happened as before. I could see the place around me change completely.

_-This is legitimately scaring me now!-_

What I saw next was the worst. I found myself on my knees in a large, rectangular room. The place was bright, completely illuminated by violet, blue and pink lights that shined out of the walls and reflected on the floor. Around me were other players which looked in the same direction as I did. Their eyes showed that they were shocked but I didn't really care for them now. What I saw in front of me was Diabel... a piece of his head was... cleanly cut off. You could see the fake blood cover the entire wound. He was saying something, but the scene started to blur again. Before it completely vanished, I could see to my terror that Diabels character shattered into a thousand polygons...

-_Diabel is... dead?-_

The thought of my companion dispersing into polygons terrified me... I held onto my head with both hands. Taking a deep breath, I told myself ''this is just a dream... a stupid, meaningless dream''.

''Do you really think so?''

The voice from behind me brought me back to my senses. Before I started to turn around, I looked around me to see where I landed now. It was this depressing place again... The round platform with an image of me...

_-Then the person behind me must be...-_

Expecting the white haired guy from last time, I was surprised when I took a glimpse of someone who had the same physical features but other than that seemed like the complete opposite after turning around. He had medium length black hair which was kept from the right to the left. He had brown eyes which didn't look as mocking as the eyes of the other one. They looked rather emotionless and tired at the same time. Though he had the same habit of staring at me... ''Again...?'' I asked hesitantly whilst now facing the stranger. No answer. I balled my fists whilst glaring at him ''Hey, can you tell me now what the hell is going on here?!'' I couldn't just hold all the stress that stored up inside of me since the last time I was here. ''No'' The cold sound of his voice echoed through the dark void.

-_I am getting tired of this!-_

I couldn't take it anymore. I was about to release all stored up emotions at the stranger who stood in front of me. But before I could, his cold voice managed to silence me... ''Shut up will you?'' I stood stock still now, not knowing what to say to this person. He took hold of his head with his index finger and his thumb whilst shaking his head ''is this what has become of you...? You are pathetic. Just wake up already, I have nothing to tell you now'' I was about to say something to my defence, when I could see the place around me getting darker and darker, slowly being swallowed by the void.

_-No! I deserve to know!-_

I wanted to know who he and the other person were... and why I am being haunted by them... What did these nightmares mean? And most importantly... who am I...?

All these questions disappeared as soon as they crossed my mind. Slowly losing consciousness, the last thing I could see was me being completely surrounded in the darkness...

* * *

**Took a while for me to continue. Sorry for the delay.**

**I did decide to do the one month time skip since I couldn't really fill it up with anything. With Neon of course going on adventures with Diabel for that short time.**

**I am horrible and describing... anything really^^so sorry for that. Also I don't have anyone who could beta test my poor writing style. Hope it wasn't too horrible though and that you liked it at least somewhat. **

**I would also like to know if I should stick to first person or third person view. **

**Other than that... I don't really have anything else to say. Next chapter will be the battle against the floor boss where we will see if Neon's dreams were all that meaningless. **


	6. Chapter 5 Fateful Encounter

**The Legend of Neon**

**Chapter 5 Fateful Encounter **

_Floor 1 Tolbana, December 2__nd__ 2 am Aincrad Standard Time_

(Third Person)

It was a quiet night on the first floor of Aincrad. Same applies to the city of Tolbana. Players generally didn't leave their homes at night whether it was to go hunting mobs or just on the streets of the city. During the night time, mobs gain strength. They would gain in power, speed, Hit points and more importantly in count. It was practically suicide to try and take them on at night. However if you were to try and take them on, the rewards and the drop chances would be the exact same as during the day. Therefore there was no reason whatsoever to even try. It is as if the creator wanted the players to use the night time for sleep or other activities that did not involve grinding for experience points.

Even then, there was no reason to not move within the city. As cruel as Kayaba's crime was, he did make sure that people could live a peaceful life if they didn't want to fight. The safe zones were what made it possible. Neither mobs nor players could attack players within a save zone, save for duels. At least there is no loophole to allow it currently.

Regardless of the safe protection of the safe zone, most players wouldn't dare to stay out for too long. They were simply too scared. How long would it take for others to find this loophole that would allow the more evil part of the Aincrad community to kill their fellow players within the save zone? For all they knew, someone might already know a way. And then there was also the question if Akihiko Kayaba , the criminal who trapped all 10000 players in 'his' world and is responsible for more than 2000 deaths now, would ever decide to make things more interesting by disabling safe zones. What would prevent him from doing it? Nothing really, except for his moral maybe. And you can't really rely on the moral of a criminal.

Neon was currently living in a local Inn. He knew that there were better places but he wasn't the kind of person that needed luxuries. His in was located in the second floor of a large wooden building, right above a restaurant. His place was made up of one room. It was a fairly undecorated bedroom with just one bed sitting in a corner, a wooden desk right in front of the large window in the centre of the wall that pointed towards the outside and a chair right in front of said desk. The window was the only light source of the room. But it wasn't strong enough to keep the room illumined to the slightest Neon was lying on the bed and you could see sweat covering his face. The blanket was lying on the floor. ''I deserve to know... You can't just...'' Just looking at him for a second would tell you that he was having a nightmare.

Suddenly, his eyes started to open slowly, bit by bit. ''What the hell...''he acted a little dazed as he raised himself up into a seated position on his bed, the legs being kept straight. ''I had a dream. What happened there again?'' His memory of what happened was clouded. Neon started to scratch his azure blue hair, trying to remember. ''It was something really impor...'' without a warning, everything that he has seen in his sleep rushed into his mind all at once. Diabel talking, the girl he was sitting with, the boss fight and most importantly... Diabel dying.

All this sudden pressure that was forced onto his mind caused him to scream in pain, holding his head and hoping that it would go away ''**AARRRRRGHHHH**''. He couldn't think straight and it just would not go away. The last piece of the memory found its way into his head. That guy... no both those strangers. Who were they?

-_L-l-eave me a-l-l-one already! Please I cant take this anymore...-_

-Calm down already-

It was that voice again. From that time when he nearly died fighting in the Horunka forest. That was a whole month ago... why is he back? Why here, why now? Neon couldn't stand that cocky voice. ''YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN?!'' he was sick of it all. It was fortunate that sound couldn't pass a locked door in SAO. Otherwise everyone in the whole city would be able to hear him...

-Yeah. Calm down Neo. Find something to distract yourself. It usually helps with the headache. Just try to not kill anybody-

Neon was confused. Kill someone? Why would he do that? The pain didn't go away completely, but he could cope with it for now ''what are you t-talking about?''

-Ah, I forgot. Memory loss. Haha, got the joke?-

''Very DAMN Funny! '' He was infuriated by how this guy made a joke out of everything...

-Have you lost your sense of humour too? Come on. Well it was nice talking to you again in a while. Don't do anything bad, little Neo-

''Wait, wait, wait NOT AGAIN!'' He shouted out. Neon just sat there for a good 5 minutes waiting for an answer. But he didn't get one. With another shout, he punched the wall right next to his bed ''ARGH!''. Though, all that did was to cause the 'immortal object' notification to pop up. His head was still aching badly... distract myself... distract... with a swift turn, he placed his feet on the floor and started to push himself up. Neon looked depressed. He was thinking about the dream. The only 'person' he talked with about it was Morter the shopkeeper who just said that it was just a dream and he should not worry about it. He was kind of right... but these dreams just don't seem normal. Then there is still the mystery of how he can feel this horrible headache. In SAO you could still feel pain but it was turned down somewhat to a point where it wouldn't cause you to be scared of it. But this headache... it pained far more than falling from 30 meter height in this game. How he knew that? He fell from a small cliff once when he was doing a quest in the mountain regions of the first floor... It was definitely the most painful experience in this game outside of the headache. Neon tried to shake these thoughts off and started to make his way out of his room.

* * *

Neon made his way downstairs to the restaurant part of the Inn. Unsurprisingly, you couldn't see a single soul except the NPC waiters. On his way out, Neon checked his inventory to make sure that his equipment was up to a good standard. He noticed that he was lacking health potions ''better make my way to Morter then...''. The location of Morter's shop had changed for a while now and was currently in Tolbana. In Aincrad, a player could invest in a shop to help improve the ware, get discounts and even help the shop to move to a more populated area and therefore make it more convenient to access. Well, Tolbana was not more populated than starting city but the players here had money whilst the ones still hiding in starting city were pretty damn poor. And that was not really good for business. When you try to make an NPC shop move its location, the shop owner would have to agree to it first. When Neon asked Morter, he was more than excited to get close to the front line again.

After a short walk from the Inn, Neon found himself in front of the shop and read the usual 'Morter's General Item Store' sign right above the door. Entering, Neon was greeted by his friend ''Welcome to Morter... ah it's you my boy! How are you?'' Most people, including his party, found it extremely weird how Neon became 'friends' with an NPC, a 'simple' computer program. Neon didn't really care about it ''Hey Morter. Doing good enough, thanks. How is the shop doing? ''. It didn't escape the shopkeeper how tired and depressed his player friend looked ''It is doing well. But say Neon, are you sure you are alright? You seem a bit tired'' the NPC shot a gaze at the clock which was to his left ''don't you think that you should be in bed right now?'' Neon started to walk towards the counter, taking a look around the place. It doesn't really ever change. From time to time, the only change could be a new item hanging around somewhere. You could invest in a better or larger building but that was far too expensive for Neon to provide. He makes a good earning through the dungeon and different quests but he was far from rich.

''Don't worry about me. It was just a bad dream'' Neon tried to put a smile on but the pain was still there and made it fairly obvious that he did not feel well. ''If you say so, then I will trust you. But I think that you should take my advice and rest for now'' Morter looked worried.

_-I hate it when he looks like that... I can take care of myself- _

Morter continued ''by any chance, was the dream you had similar to the last one you told me about?''. Neon was a little surprised that he remembered ''Yeah... it was''. The shopkeeper started to scratch his chin lightly which made Neon ask a little hesitantly ''why are you asking? I mean, you said yourself that it is just a dream''. ''Indeed I did'' he stopped scratching his chin and formed a more serious expression '' but whether it is a dream or not, it is obvious that you are not taking it very well''.

He was right. Even though it doesn't happen frequently, the two guys that Neon meets every time, he enters that... strange place, mess him up quite badly. He tries to believe that it is just a dream but on the other hand, it just seemed so real. These two guys, who are seemingly complete opposites of each other, seem so familiar to him... but he just can't remember it. And then there was also the question of how he feels so used to fighting with a sword. Maybe he was just a little crazy...? Even before the SAO incident?

Suddenly the image of him impaling the white haired boy from his dreams with an abnormal looking sword appeared in Neon's head. It caused his headache to intensify a little which he managed to keep hidden from Morter who was still right next to him.

_-Not that again...did I kill him...? For all I know, I could have murdered him and that is why I am having these nightmares. But how exactly would I have gained access to a Nerve Gear as a murderer?-_

''Neon? Did your screws go loose or why do you look like you have just seen a ghost, my boy?'' that kicked Neon out of his thought process and only then he realised that Morter tried to get his attention for the last couple of seconds. ''Ah... sorry Morter'' he replied, trying to make his apology as acceptable as it could get. ''What did you ask again?''. Neon knew he said something wrong when he saw the disbelief in the NPC's eyes. ''I didn't ask anything!'' Morter then gave Neon a slap on the back of his head with his right hand which caused him to stagger to the side ''I was trying to tell you that you need to be careful. If you don't keep a calm head as an adventurer you will be in danger out there!''

Neon was trying to come back from the hit he just took from Morter. Funnily enough, NPC's also had an own level. Morter was level 20... That hit would probably have killed Neon outside of the save zone... But he was surprised at how much the old man seemed to care about his safety. He only knew him for a month now but he always seemed to try to help him. Neon didn't care anymore about Morter being an NPC. The same applied to all the other inhabitants of Aincrad.

This time, Neon tried to make a real apology '' Sorry Morter... I just feel a little messed up. That's it really. No need to worry about me, I promise that I will be alright'' He made an honest smile towards the shopkeeper which did manage to calm the situation down a little. ''Alright... I will take your word'' Morter placed both his hands on the counter ''so what did you come here for again? I am sure that it wasn't just the urge to talk to an old man in the middle of the night '' His facial expression softened again as far as his age would allow. ''I just wanted to ask if I could use your alchemy table to make some potions? And maybe buy some ingredients, if that is alright'' Neon started to open his inventory as it was necessary during a trade whether it was with and NPC or with another player.

A few minutes later, Neon bought a handful of green flowers and wheat which were the most basic ingredients for a small health potion. His alchemy level wouldn't really allow a lot more outside of that. He used the ingredients to quickly craft some potions at the alchemy table which was located behind the counter. Morter was nice enough to let him use it.

With everything done, Neon started to make his way out of the shop, saying bye to Morter before he headed out. But before he left, Morter asked him what he was planning to do

''Nothing really, I just came for the health potions''

A lie...

Neon didn't want Morter to worry about him...

* * *

Around ten minutes later, Neon found himself standing at the entry of the first floor dungeon.

''Just a peek... If I can see how the boss looks like and maybe even get an idea of his attack patterns, then we could create a flawless plan against him... and no one would have to die... not that anyone will die''

_-It was just a god damn nightmare! But I can't ignore it...-_

Whilst entering the dungeon nervously, his concerns would leave him alone.

_-It is stupid to do this. I could die, especially at this time. No one would save me this time if I were to fall into a bad situation... but...-_

With each step, he started to gain in determination '' I can't just ignore it. I couldn't sleep like this anyway...''

He was now through the entry of the dungeon and looked at the familiar dark corridors which opened up to him. ''It definitely was somewhere around the 11th floor'' dungeons in Aincrad were structured similarly to the whole island itself. Here you would also have a certain number of floors per dungeon. At the bottom of the dungeon, you would usually meet the weakest mobs whilst the stronger mobs would reside towards the top, with the floor boss being the last one. The lone swordsman opened his map which he uses to plan how he is going to get there in one piece. Though his mind would still tell him that it was a horrible idea, his heart was willing to do this for the greater good of the players. He somehow felt like it was his duty...

''I am glad that this map data is working... To get to the second floor, I will only have to walk forward for a while and then turn to the right there to reach the staircase... Shouldn't be too hard'' during his explanation, he was moving his index finger along the pathway that he had to take on his map.

_-Alright then let's get going...-_

It went alright for Neon for the first 5 floors. All mobs he encountered were made up of a few weak level 6 goblin soldiers. He didn't even need a single health potion. He was able to dodge any attack incoming, fighting in his usual sword style. But from then on, the enemies became faster and faster and it became a whole lot harder for him to fight the groups and avoid being hit especially because of them being stronger during night time. Currently he was struggling somewhere on the 7th floor.

Neon took a deep breath after slaying, what felt like, kobold number thousand. Shooting a gaze at his health bar, he could see that he was at 40% health. During the last battle, one of the kobolds managed to catch him by surprise. He couldn't just wait for it to regenerate since mobs could spawn anytime and even a fly landing on his head would kill him at less than half his health. ''This is taking ages...'' the sound of his voice echoed through the empty corridors of the dungeon. He didn't sheath his sword as he knew that he would most likely meet another handful of mobs around the next corner. How long was he here now? Hours? At least it felt like that for him.

_Tip tap tip tap..._

The sounds of his own footsteps were starting to drive him crazy accompanied by the still present headache. He didn't really want to admit it but it was clear: He got lost again...

How he managed to get lost, even though he had clear and accurate map data available to him? During the fighting, he lost track of his way... This was not really a good excuse though. Any decent player would make fun of such stupidity. It wasn't all that hard to keep a calm eye on the surroundings even when fighting these kobolds. At least that's what most players would say who fought in this dungeon before. Including Kibaou...

''Stupid Kibaou... stupid nightmares... curse that Kayaba guy... CURSE EVERYTHING! This is the 4th time I see this crossway...'' Kayaba seemingly felt insulted by Neon as multiple Kobolds started to spawn around him. ''Of course I am this lucky'' a sigh left him and got lost in the sound of the spawning mobs. He took a critical look at his opponents.

_-It's not going well... Nearly out of potions, fighting five kobold soldiers level 9... I hope my luck doesn't run out today-_

He quickly got into fighting stance and made himself ready for the assault, which could potentially end his game. Neon hoped that the Kobolds would attack separately. He could easily dodge them one by one. But in the case that all 5 would go at once, his odds of survival were bad. A single hit could be it for him.

All kobolds were right in front of him and the first two to make a move were the ones standing at the head of the group. They rushed at him in a straight line. Predictable, but if Neon wouldn't take it seriously like last time, then he would surely fail miserably again. And it was unlikely that someone would jump in to save him this time. Neon jumped, covering a large distance from the floor, which seemed extremely unrealistic compared to how high a regular person was able to jump. Both attacks missed and Neon managed to get close to the ceiling of the corridor. The swordsman used it to his advantage to flip around and use the ceiling to boost himself towards one of the kobolds. He made sure to target one that was standing a safe distance away from the others to avoid getting surrounded by them. With a strong push, Neon catapulted himself towards his target and sliced his sword through the chest of the mob, killing it in a single strike. The exp gained caused the level up screen to appear in front of him, stating that he just reached level 9.

_-Really? I don't have time for this right now...-_

The swordsman didn't even bother looking at it and discarded it completely to focus his attention at the remaining 4 mobs. Both mobs who failed their attacks before forced all their attention towards Neon, with menacing eyes, probably angry about how easily he avoided the attack. Suddenly, Neon noticed that one of the four Kobolds wasn't present in his view which caused him to duck down out of reflex, avoiding a surprise attack from the missing Kobold. Without losing any time, he made a quick spin and slashed his Anneal blade right into both legs of the monster, cutting them off in the process. The mob didn't die but it was no real threat anymore so he ignored it and made another large jump, this time initiating the attack on the remaining three kobolds.

Neon was surprised... surprised at how the headache was improving with each monster he killed... he didn't notice it on the first two but after that last attack, it was like the pain never existed in the first place. Is this how he could get rid of it? By slaying mobs? Maybe some sort of de-buff? An extremely sick joke from the creator...? There wasn't really any time to think about it.

The two at the front were starting to go into a defensive stance whilst the third one left himself wide open, therefore it was the perfect target and Neon knew it. Ignoring the remaining two kobolds, he aimed his assault towards the careless one. The swordsman landed right in front of the mob, ducking a little, just to then use the extra momentum for a powerful swing aimed at the throat. The attack connected and decapitated the kobold instantly, only leaving behind a shining sparkle of blue polygons and a number indicating the experience gained.

''Alright... nearly done'' He said, believing that the fight was as good as won.

_Srrruum Srrruum Srruum..._

_-What..?-_

The sound of new monsters spawning shattered his confidence into little pieces. He turned around just to confirm to his shock that out of nowhere, 2 kobolds became 7.

_-This can't be right... It hasn't even been 10 minutes! How can new ones spawn this quickly?!-_

''This has just gotten a whole lot harder... What the?!''

And just to make it even better, Neon was unable to move. Looking down at himself, he spotted something that would have triggered a burst of laughter from him if his life wouldn't be in danger right now.

_-The Kobold I 'spared' because I thought that he was no danger... I am screwed huh?-_

And indeed, right at his feet, the legless kobold was holding onto him which made it impossible to move. It felt humiliating to him. He was again in grave dang... No, he was going to die because he repeated the mistake of not taking it seriously and being careless. Out of the border of his eyes, he could see three of the kobolds already storming towards him.

_-Ah great. And I couldn't even clear a single percent of the game...-_

Facing death, the swordsman tried to at least show some bravery in his last moments by mocking himself for the idiotic mistake. He didn't want to die but there wasn't really any other option.

Then the miracle he needed appeared out of nowhere. Like a bolt of lightning, another player slid through all three opposing mobs bisecting them like a hot knife through butter, killing each of them in the process. The player then stood in front of Neon with her back turned, guarding him from the threat of the monsters. ''I don't know if you have some sort of death wish, or a stupid hero complex'' A female voice, strong, reproachful and cold. Neon recognized it... she turned sideways, her remorseless blue eyes staring into Neon's, gesturing towards him. She wore a turquoise battle dress, Neon's eyes naturally fixated to her exposed abdomen, and then his vision slowly ascended towards her pale, unforgiving gaze. ''To be honest I don't care'' for a second, you could see a glare of light in her otherwise emotionless expression. ''But it would be a shame for all that map data of yours to get wasted'' Neon observed her body for minutes, it was like time had come to a halt, her voice impaled his fascination. ''So how about a deal? I save your little life and as a trade off you will share your map data with me. After that you can travel off and get yourself killed somewhere else if you want"

Time started to move again as Neon could see the remaining mobs start to get ready for another attack. He wasn't sure what to think of this situation though. He was still confused as to what just happened. He continued to stare at her.

_-Is that... the girl from that day? The one who told me about the guidebook? Why is she saving me? That has got to be her... And why the hell are her hair and her eyes blue all of a sudden?!-_

''If you are done down there with your little kobold friend, then could you help me out with the remaining mobs?''

Though it felt somewhat annoyed at that last request, she was right. He wasn't out of the danger yet. There were still 4 kobolds left and a single hit would down him easily. Therefore he decided that the smartest thing would be to get rid of that Kobold who was still holding onto his legs. With his Anneal blade he gave a strong thrust right between the eyes of the monster which took away its remaining health. As soon as it dispersed into little particles, the swordsman placed himself right next to his saviour, indicating with a nod that he was alright. The girl seemed to acknowledge that as she said ''Alright, I'll leave my back to you. Don't mess up'' Neon noticed that the girl got herself ready for the remaining attackers. Her weapon was a Katana... a weapon of patience and precision. Katana users were highly uncommon, this was the first time Neon has seen one.

_-Didn't it require a... what did they call it... extra skill? You couldn't just select it by yourself without any qualification. That's amazing...-_

''Focus''

Her words ripped him out of his thoughts. Yes, time to get rid of the last few Kobolds. Neon raised his awareness and prepared mentally as good as he could. The Katana user next to him seemed to do it so naturally...

''Alright, listen, I will take the one who is standing at the left side. Your will cover me and from there...''

Her words didn't manage to get to Neon. A strange sensation overcame him. His vision blurred and he started to feel heavy even though he was fine just a second ago. And with it, the pain returned.

_-Wha... is t-t-this...-_

It made it impossible for him to even think calmly. ''Hey... are you...'' He couldn't understand what the girl was saying...

_-What... happening this ti...-_

-Ah poor little Neo. Feeling bad? Now now, don't blame it on me, it has nothing to do with me. Maybe you just stressed yourself a little too much. How about you... relax a bit-

This guy again.

_-You... bastard, wha... did you do?!-_

-Nothing. Honest. Now I think it's time for you to take a little nap-

He lost his footing. The last thing he felt was dropping down for what felt like an eternity. The blue haired girl shouted something but Neon couldn't understand a single word.

* * *

_A dark night. A burning village. Everywhere you could smell death and destruction. Dark blue creatures were moving through the streets. They looked like small lurches, with two sharp antennas on their round heads and glowing red eyes. They would attack any villager and mercilessly slaughtered everyone they could grab with no exceptions. _

''_Neon get back up!'' _

_There were two children. One was a fragile looking little boy around 4 years old and the other was a girl who seemed to be around 14 years old. Both had azure blue hair, cut very shortly, the girl having slightly longer hair, with the eyes being the same colour. They were running, running as far as they could from the threat of the creatures that destroyed their home. The boy was on the ground, with his right knee and both his hands in the dirt ''I can't big sis... my right foot...'' you could see some tears form and drop from his eyes._

_The sister of the boy crouched down beside him, fear and concern drawn on her face. Though, she tried to look strong. For her little brother. ''Let me see...'' she checked the ankle of his right foot by touching down the bones and see if there was anything wrong with it._

''_No... It's broken...'' she stated in a dead whisper, making sure that her brother couldn't hear it._

''_Come on Neon...'' she tried to hold him up, balancing his body on her shoulders. But she didn't have any strength left... After getting up just a little, the girl collapsed down back on the ground with her brother still around her shoulders. She desperately tried to get back up, but it was too late. They were surrounded by the menacing monsters. _

_There wasn't anything she could do anymore. No hope and no escape. ''Big sis, what is happening'' the young boy cried, not understanding the situation due to his age. She embraced her brother in her arms ''don't worry Neon... everything is alright...'' she was starting to tear up at the thought that they were going to die there, after seeing all family and friends slaughtered. She promised that she would always protect him, but she failed..._

_The creatures now stormed at them. The frightened girl shut her eyes tight, preparing for the inevitable and hoping that it would be over quickly. _

_Nothing happened._

_She had her eyes closed for several minutes now. Why hasn't she felt anything yet? Was she dead already? Maybe dying wasn't as painful as she though... But then she felt the warm breath of her brother, telling her that she wasn't dead yet. Aqua had no idea of what was happening. She was too scared to open her eyes..._

_A warm and soft hand touched her cheeks _

''_you are very brave for your age. I can feel a strong and kind heart in you'' _

_The fear vanished with those words and the girl forced her eyes open only to gaze upon a man who had black hair tied in a high topknot with one bang falling off from the right side of his face. He was wearing a white, red lined haori with a blue shirt that had strange symbols on it. In his right hand he held, what looked like, an oversized key. She couldn't believe the powerful aura that came from this man. ''Say what is your name?'' The girl replied obediently, putting her trust into their saviour._

''_Aqua''_

''_Aqua, do you want to protect the people you care about? Like your little brother you are holding there?'' Aqua replied with a light nod. ''Then why don't you come with me? I will teach you how you can defeat the darkness and protect the ones close to you'' _

_She had to. The sorrow Aqua felt on this day. No one should ever have to go through something like that ever again... she wanted to make sure of that. She bowed her head, whilst still holding her brother ''Please make me your apprentice, Master!''_

_All the while, the small boy observed everything carefully, the day that changed the siblings' normal life forever._

* * *

The sun was rising upon the first floor of Aincrad. It might be a death game but no one could deny that the world looked far more beautiful than any of the crowded urban cities in the real world. Adventurers were getting ready for their usual hunt. Some were getting ready for the announced meeting in Tolbana with strong hopes that they could finally progress in their siege of the tower.

It was quiet however in the forest surrounding the entry to the floor boss dungeon. You could see light shining through gaps in the leave ceiling provided by the trees. Neon was lying against one of those trees, unconscious. The light started to shine on his closed eyes which cause him to gain consciousness again and try to cover his eyes from the light with his right hand. He remained in that position for an extended duration. Neon felt horrible, even though he didn't know why. The pain was gone. But for some reason he just felt... sad.

''What was that dream about...?''

The swordsman continued to observe his hand, not caring about anything else right now. The light started to somewhat obscure his vision. But he didn't care, depression and sadness where the only two emotions he felt right now. ''I don't understand...'' a soft whisper escaped him. That boy in the dream was him? What were those creatures? Did he really have a sister?

_-What if that dream was about... my past? But it can't be... that looked far from realistic... at least no one I ever talked to has mentioned creatures like that existing in the real world...-_

''Why are you crying? ''

The soft sounding voice took Neon out of his thoughts and reminded him that there was someone with him. He took his gaze off his hand and moved it down until his eyes locked with the ones of the katana user. He thought for a second about how she suddenly looked and sounded so caring... it was like a whole different person was standing in front of him.

_-Wait... I am crying...?-_

Neon moved his hand to his eyes, feeling the wet tears that were nearly streaming down his face. Embarrassed about it, he quickly started to wish it off with his sleeve. Then he moved his attention back to the girl who was still staring at him silently. ''Uh... sorry. I don't know what came over me'' now that they were outside, he could see the amazing armour she was wearing a lot better. Nothing he had seen before came even close to it. The majority of the players were still stuck on simple leather vests. This even blew Diabels iron armour out of the water, and Neon considered that the most advance on the floor.

Then the swordsman noticed that he was forgetting something. ''Eh... wait. Why did you save me?'' the katana users expression switched back to how Neon knew it, cold and emotionless. ''I told you. It would be a shame to let the map data get wasted. I was so free to search you whilst you were unconscious; it is actually worth quite a bit thank you very much. Hope that isn't an issue for you'' a mocking and arrogant looking smirk appeared on her lips. ''Well thank you for getting me out of there...'' Neon started to get um on his feet, giving his trousers a few punches to get the dirt off from sitting on the ground ''... and also thanks for your help a month ago''. Neon expected something like 'no big deal' but instead he just received a confused stare from the girl. ''What do you mean by a month ago?''

_-Ah great... she doesn't remember-_

''After the announcement of SAO being a death game, I stopped you in an alleyway desperate for guidance. Don't you remember? Come on how many people do you meet that have hair like this!'' Neon touched a few of his hair to indicate what he meant. ''Ah yes... how stupid of me. You're that noob from the first day?'' she started laughing a little. It sounded kind of... cute to Neon. Even though she was laughing at him...

_-Ah! Stop thinking crap like that... what time is it anyway...? I was in the dungeon for the entire night...-_

''Hey, what's your name?'' the space between the two players was completely silent for a few seconds after that question. It came from Neon.

_-wait! That wasn't what I wanted to ask...Why did I just ask that? I wanted to know the time. Though now thinking about it, that would be a pretty stupid question as well since I could just check it in the menu...-_

''None of your business'' she replied with that cold aura of hers.

_-Figured as much...-_

The silence continued for another moment. Neon took the moment of silence to check his surroundings. He knew the place, so he would hopefully find his way back to Tolbana on his own. Looking at the sun, he guessed that it should still be around morning time. Then the katana user broke the silence ''well if there is nothing else, I will get going now. I have wasted enough time'' she was starting to walk away. ''Wait'' she stopped dead in her tracks ''you know that there is a meeting in Tolbana to plan against the first boss, right?''. She turned around to look at Neon ''Of course I know. I am heading there right now. Should start any second''

_-Wha... Tolbana lies in that direction...? I am glad I asked...-_

''I'll see you there then'' the girl turned around to leave once more, ignoring that last sentence.

''God... why is she like that...? I should get going now too'' with that, the swordsman started to head towards Tolbana, hoping that he wasn't too late ''Kibaou would kill me...''

* * *

**Ah yeah. Sorry to all people that read this story... took a bit to finish this^^ I was pretty busy. I actually wanted to have the first boss included but this was a really nice place to stop the chapter at. **

**So yeah. Like I said in earlier chapters, this is going to be extremely related to Kingdom hearts for all you that haven't played that game. And for all of you that did play it... You can think of it like Neon is related to the Kingdom hearts characters and is able to travel through worlds. Now in this story he ended up in the world of SAO :P(For a pretty damn long time) Ill make some sort of prequel eventually... I just hope that I'll get the timeline right...**

**I thought that a Katana would make the perfect weapon for 'the girl' (Honestly it should be obvious who it is...). I definitely didn't want any bows. And when I think about a melee weapon for precision, Katanas are the way to go. Though I could be completely wrong there. Yes it is an extra skill which is supposed to be unlocked late on... No, i don't care. It isn't going to be the end of the world. Klein will still get his Katana later on.**

**Her clothes are the ones she wears in Alfheim online btw... at least for the first few floors. I'll probably change it into the clothes she wears in Infinity moment later on.**

**In my story Aqua(Character from Kingdom hearts) is the sister of Neon. When i daydreamed this up, I just thought: Blue hair Blue eyes him, Blue hair Blue eyes her. So why not^^ And since she lacks any background story, I just used the usual 'home got burned down' story. And the warrior who saved Neon and Aqua is Master Eraqus. That should have been obvious, right(At least for the ones that know him)?**

**Neon seems to get into the habit of being a damsel in distress who keeps falling unconscious. Don't worry. This was the last time, promise.**

**If there are questions or logic holes(I expect a lot) feel free to ask. i will answer it except when I plan to include that later in the story. In that case I wont spoiler you.**

**My visual description is till extremely lacking. I hope Ill get the hang of it soon... and with that, I hope that everyone who bothered reading to this point actually enjoys it and that the writing is not too horrible^^ (I will repeat that quite a few times in the future)**

**Next chapter will be in by next Tuesday(Little edit. I meant Tuesday not Thursday XD). Going to take down the first boss. No promises though...**


	7. Chapter 6 Before The Storm

**The Legend of Neon**

**Chapter 6 Before The Storm**

_Floor 1 Tolbana, December 3__rd__ 4 pm Aincrad standard time_

(Neon First Person)

After leaving the forest around the floor dungeon, I started making my way towards Tolbana. I am seriously glad though that the girl told me where it was. Not attending the usual morning meeting with my party was one thing, but Kibaou would murder me in my sleep if I were to miss the boss meeting. I wouldn't even hate him for that... the meeting was undeniably important. My skills in this game were not the best, but my level was somewhere around what the top players had currently.

_-Now that I am thinking about... didn't I get a level up before?-_

Levelling up in this game always had a great feeling to it. With every level up, you could even feel yourself getting stronger and faster. And it was only one more level until I would gain another skill slot. Excited about viewing my progress, I proceeded to open up my menu and go to my attributes. One point went into strength. Though... what should I do with the remaining two?

_-Maybe it would be smart to finally start to put at least some points into vitality...? Ah, Nah. It will be better to stick to hit and run since I have gone that path for too far anyway-_

And so I spend the last two points into agility. There was one annoying thing though about placing your attribute points... the regret. It doesn't matter how sure you were about placing the points into certain skills before, you would always end up thinking that you could have made a better choice. That was a pain. Whilst looking through my skills, my eyes carefully observed the useless and strange skill slots which I had since the start of this death game. The symbols never changed two golden boxes with grey spheres within.

_-Is this even supposed to be like this...? I don't even know if I should really care. But maybe... maybe it has some meaning to it... well if that is the case, I will find it out eventually. Depends on whether I live that long...-_

I started shaking my head, trying to get rid of that last thought. I honestly don't know why I am still alive. A knife is constantly pressed against my throat, but before it is able to even cut the skin, it starts moving away again. Every time I was close to death, I would get saved in the last second. Was it just luck...? Probably, and it would run out eventually. I closed my menu and continued along the path. The environment around me changed into flat grassland whilst I was distracted with my menu. It was easy to see Tolbana from where I was.

Thinking about death brought up the memories about the dream again; the one which I had when I was unconscious. My right hand went slowly to my face, touching the space below my right eye and rubbing it a little. ''I was crying... why? Why did I cry?'' I quickly grabbed my forehead, scratching my hair a little with my fingernails. That girl... the sad feeling inside me made it obvious that I should remember her. But I couldn't... just like everything else that happened before I entered SAO. I avoided thinking about it but every single morning I would look at myself and ask who the hell I am. However it never went to the point where I actually felt sad about it... I would shrug it off and say that it wasn't all that important in this world. However, thinking about that girl... my sister, felt like a thorn in my heart... Sadness accompanied by guilt and regret would make up all the emotions I could feel. I took my hand back of my face and stared at it. My legs stopped moving in an instant.

_-What kind of person was I to feel all this guilt...? Did I actually...-_

''Hey, Neon! There you are!'' My thoughts were interrupted by a voice I easily distinguished as Diabel's voice. Looking up and focusing on my surroundings again, I quickly noticed that I was already at my destination. The first building of the small city wasn't further than 30 meters away from me. That didn't take long... I could spot Diabel sprinting towards me, coming from the blacksmith shop. He stopped right in front of me, bowing down a little and balancing himself on both his knees to catch his breath. Suddenly, he shot up from his bowed position, revealing his usual charismatic smile '' I thought for a second there that you weren't going to come!''. I tried my best to force up a smile, so that he wouldn't notice that I wasn't feeling great ''Of course I would come. I can't wait to hear you speak in front of all the other players''.

''Neon? A-are you alright?'' the question came so sudden and was filled with concern. I am a terrible actor... ''Uh... yeah? Why are you asking?''. He pointed his index finger right at me ''you look extremely pale. Is something wrong?'' Quickly starting to shake both my hands in front of me, I replied ''Nooooo, no, no and no. I am alright'' I placed my right hand on the back of my head, trying to sell this lie as good as I could ''I just couldn't sleep last night. That's all to it, really''. I could feel his penetrative stare, it was clear that he wouldn't accept an answer like that. Aside from being a friendly person, he has to make sure that the players who will participate in the boss fight are high in spirit.

''Alright then... I need to get the meeting ready, I will count on your support there!'' Diabel seemed like he didn't want to drop the subject just like that. But being a raid group leader was like being the general of a platoon. It was his responsibility to make sure that everything goes smooth. Preferably without anyone dying... I quickly pushed aside that thought. What we needed now more than anything was a good moral. Diabel would have to make sure that his speech actually gets enough players involved in the battle. ''I wish you the best of luck'' I gave him a thumbs up, trying to give him some extra motivation. He would need it.

* * *

''Can't believe we got this many players...'' my soft whisper got lost in the chatter of the crowd of players who were assembled on the old stone ruins of what seemed like an old Colosseum in Tolbana. They looked competent, which made me breath in out of relieve. I was sitting at the very back, with Kibaou to my left and Lind somewhere around the place. He should be at least; I wouldn't think that he would miss Diabels speech. Though then I could spot him in between a group of players unknown to me. Diabel himself in the mean time was standing in the centre of the place, trying to not look too nervous. And he did a really good job at that. His aura would be able to fill anyone with hope. Hope...fully. ''Think this will go well?'' that question came from Kibaou to my left.

_-Good question. If this fails in getting us a decent raid group, challenging the boss will be impossible. Then without someone making the first step, no one in the future will try. That would make matters difficult... In the worst case scenario, we will be stuck on the first floor forever whilst our bodies in the real world rot away-_

After giving it some thought, I finally formed my opinion ''It will have to. Otherwise we won't be able to process. I am sure everyone here knows that''. Kibaou gave off a deep sigh ''whether they know won't help if they are a bunch of whiny cowards. We will just have to rely on Diabel I guess''. ''Yeah probably'' both of us focused our attention at our good friend, seeing that the meeting was starting.

''Okay, let's get started, people! My name is Diabel. I like to consider my job as knight'' To put in extra emphasis on the word knight, he gave his own chest a little punch with his right hand. All that did though was releasing sounds of laughter all around. I could hear things like ''There is no job system in this game!'' and ''you should take this seriously!''.

I didn't care though.

I didn't laugh neither did I even show signs of a smirk. Anyone looking at me would probably notice that I am going through some serious psychological stress right now. And they would be right to think so.

_-Were did I hear that exact same introduction...?-_

That was a silly question. I knew exactly where I heard it. My heart rate increased and my breath started to become irregular. No signs of a headache yet but it wouldn't surprise me if that change any second now.

_-The dream... it couldn't... it can't... that is impos...-_

The meeting continued around me with myself being like mentally absent.

I didn't understand. That dream I had couldn't have been a vision of the future... right? No... That just can't be it. It was just two sentences. It's just coincidence. Yes, that has to be it: Pure coincidence. There is no way that a dream could tell you the future... right? Thinking that didn't help though. I could feel every one of my limbs shaking. My breathing would still make someone think that I was about to die, which luckily no one has bee...

'_SLAP'_

That was the loud sound created from something impacting the back of my head. Looking to my left, I could see what it was that hit me. Kibaou was giving me a glare, holding his right hand in the air before my head. Usually I would lose to rage when he would slap the back of my head. But this time I was glad. That was exactly what I needed ''Say what the hell is wrong with you today?'' he ranted, trying to not be too loud.

''Okay, have you formed your parties?'' I looked at Diabel somewhat dumbfounded and quickly turned my glance to Kibaou who observed the scene closely. ''Oi what did I m...'' My attempt to ask was interrupted by a sudden shout by Kibaou.

''Just a second!''

All of a sudden, I could see him jumping down the rows step by step and then skipping three steps on his last jump, bringing him right in front of Diabel. He looked at the groups of players, pointing his right thumb at himself ''my name is Kibaou. I want to say something before we take on the boss''. He place both his hands on his hips ''some of you here need to apologize to the two thousand who have died so far!'' he pointed his finger at the whole crowd, causing them to look shocked and somewhat confused as to what he meant.

_-Ah I get it. That story again...-_

He was talking about the beta testers. I don't really get the concept of a beta tester but as far as I know, they were able to explore this world far earlier than the normal players which is supposed to give them an edge. Kibaou blames them for taking all the resources before the newer players. I don't know what I am supposed to think of that... but I know one thing. Some of them are far better than the average player. Now the question which always comes to my mind on this subject is: Isn't that good? After all we are all fighting for the purpose of getting out of this game... right?

''Kibaou, are you referring to the beta testers?'' Diabel knew it. After all he had to listen to his anti-beta tester stories just as much as I had to. ''Of course I am!'' he retorted back at Diabel ''on the day this stupid game started, the beta guys ditched us beginners, and they all disappeared'' No one could deny that much. The katana girl, she was a beta tester, at least I think she is. She went to conquer this world by herself right after the death announcement. There are two kinds of people who would do that, the first one being idiots with a death wish and the second being beta testers. I guess I belong to the first group... or maybe not? Who knows maybe I was a beta tester myself. It would explain why I felt so used to fighting with a sword. The girl seemed very confident in her abilities. Therefore I would conclude that she was a beta tester.

''They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, so only they could get stronger'' This was also true, but honestly, how can you blame them? Anyone would have done that if they had the information. And I bet a lot of the dead players were beta testers too. Kibaou started closing his eyes and waving his right hand in the air ''and then, they just ignored the rest of us'' I could see him letting out a sudden burst of anger after trying to hold back ''I am sure someone here was in the beta!'' he balled his fist and pointed it at the players ''they should get on their knees and apologize, and give up all the items and money they have hoarded''

_-You can't be serious...-_

He crossed his arms on his chest ''Otherwise, we can't trust them to protect us as party members, and they shouldn't trust us!'' I felt like jumping down there and punch him right in the face. What is this moron doing? Is he trying to divide the players here? Destroy their trust in each other?!

_-Kibaou, you dense moron. You just told me a second ago that you wanted this to go on smoothly!-_

''Grrr...'' a growl escaped me and I was about to step in and try to stop him from making matters even more complicated. But before I could do that, I heard a strong and calm voice of another player who probably thought the same as me ''may I speak?'' The player was sitting around the middle rows. He was a bald, dark skinned man. But what really stood out was his size. He was colossal, just as colossal as the giant axe on his back...

_-Uh... I wouldn't want to piss this guy off...-_

He stood up from his seat and stepped down the rows all the way to where Kibaou was standing, stopping as soon as he right in front of him. ''My name is Egil. Kibaou, tell me if I have his right'' he sounded confident. And it was hilarious to see Kibaou's scared expression right now. ''You are saying that because the beta testers didn't take care of them, many beginners died. That they should take responsibility, apologize and compensate for it. Correct?'' I like this guy already. Anyone who can intimidate Kibaou, earns my respect.

_-Haha... I shouldn't joke around like this. The situation has not been diffused just yet...-_

So I continued observing the argument carefully. ''Y-yeah'' intimidation definitely worked on Kibaou. Egil started to take out something out of his left trouser pocket ''you got this guide book, didn't you?'' he took out a little handbook ''it was provided for free at the item store''. It was hard to see it from where I sat but I knew exactly what it was. The same book that practically saved my life, with the author being Argo...

_-Ah... I get it. Guess she was a beta tester eh?-_

Kibaou seemed confused as to what Egil was trying to say ''Sure, I did... why?''. ''It was compiled from information given by beta testers'' this caused some surprised reactions from the attending players. I had my hands balled in each other, holding them right at my chin and balancing my head a little on them ''So I was kind of right...'' my mood lightened up by a great amount.

_-I am glad this guy noped Kibaou-_

Now Egil was starting to talk to everyone who was present to rebuild the trust between them ''Listen. Everyone had equal access to this information'' he gave the book a smack with the back of his hand ''and even still, many players died. I thought the topic of discussion here was what we could learn from their deaths, and how that can help us defeat the boss'' Egil turned, facing Kibaou again who was now completely defeated. With a ''hm!'' he quickly left the spot he was standing at and seated himself right in the front row where no one would bother him.

_-Ah great. I hoped that I could punch a few more holes into his confidence-_

''Alright. Then, can we resume?'' All players including me focused back on Diabel after the sudden arguments. ''The latest edition of that guide book was just issued, and contains information on the boss'' everyone seemed to be interested in that as they stared at Diabel expectantly. It caused me an uncomfortable feeling though.

_-So... I nearly got myself killed over nothing...? They already had information on the boss. They must have had if there were people who played this game before. I'm such an idiot...-_

I slapped myself on the forehead and continued listening to the vital information. ''According to it, the boss's name is Illfang the kobold lord. He is guarded by assistants known as Ruin kobold sentinels. He is armed with an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars and when the last one enters the red, he switches to a curved sword type weapon called a talwar. His attack patterns change as well''

The air started to fill with sounds of awe and you could hear people saying simple things like ''Wow...'' and ''Amazing''. I was one of them. That is everything we needed to know to produce a valid strategy. We can't lose this! The encouraging feeling was crushed by the image of Diabel dying and I started to grab my head from the sudden pain that appeared ''this again...!''. I was trying desperately to deny it ''No... It was just a dream... we can't lose like this...'' luckily, it worked, for now at least. The pain started to lift itself as easily as it came in the first place. I looked around myself to check if anyone took note of me. As my eyes wandered the crowds of players, they stopped when they met the blue eyes of the Katana user. She was sitting far off from all the other players, with only two other players as an exception. One was a figure in a red hood which you couldn't identify at all. The other was a boy with medium length dark hair which was very messy. He wore the standard starter gear. I guessed though that he had them upgraded to at least some extend.

The Girl was watching me. Maybe she even saw me just hold my head in pain. The expression of her confused me... she looked concerned? I was cut off by Diabel who continued the meeting ''this concludes the briefing'' noticing that he forgot something, he quickly added it in at the end ''lastly, items will be automatically distributed. EXP goes to the party that defeats the boss. And whoever receives an item, keeps it. Any objections?''

No one objected with those rules. Why should they? They were fair for all the players. Seeing that no one objected, Diabel continued ''Okay, we leave tomorrow, at ten in the morning'' He waved his right hand from left to right as a sign that the meeting was at its end ''See you there!''. Now the meeting was officially finished. A few players started to get up and leave; some stayed and discussed things with their party. I quickly made my way down towards Diabel, Kibaou and lind. They were surrounded by other players as well, including Egil. Arriving right at their side, I was able to hear something I would have never imagined to hear. Kibaou apologised for nearly dividing the players ''Sorry for that Diabel... I didn't know that the beta testers actually did support us'' of course knowing how nice of a person Diabel was, he would accept that apology ''No big deal Kibaou, at the end the meeting was a success and we can prepare to take down that boss tomorrow'' Kibaou grabbed the back of his head with his right hand, seemingly feeling glad that no one blamed him. Even Egil accepted his apology. I moved right next to Kibaou and gave him a strong punch on the shoulder ''Well done buddy. Your story nearly made me fall asleep again'' he massaged the point that I punched and started to growl a little ''don't push it...'' everyone fell into a short lived laughter. Then I suddenly heard Diabel trying to gain my attention ''Hey Neon. There is something I need your help with. It would be nice if we could talk without anyone listening'' I gave him a short nod, confused as to what he wanted from me.

I and Diabel sat down on the top row of the stone structure, far off from the rest of the players who remained around the place. ''So what is it you need me to do?'' I tried to start the chat. ''There is a party which only has 3 members in it. Would you mind to join them? You should tell them that your job will be to hold off the mobs that are guarding the boss rather than engaging the boss itself''. I didn't have any complains to that. Fighting alongside some random players in an important fight like this might not be the greatest idea but like I noticed before, they all look competent. ''Sure, I can do that...''

_-However... I am fairly sure that isn't all to it...-_

''There is something else'' I knew it. But why did he look so down? ''Yeah...? What is it...?'' I asked hesitantly. ''I am a beta tester''. He was? The fear in his voice kind of surprised me. So what of it? It made me erupt into laughter for a few seconds which made him look at me irritated as to what has gotten into me. After calming down, I said what I wanted to the whole time I laughed ''so what of it?'' his perplex stare nearly managed to set me off laughing again ''you don't care?''. ''Course I care. Now I can be certain that you will be a great leader!'' he started to stare down at the ground... I couldn't quite catch how he felt this time... was it guilt? I tried to encourage him ''Hey now come on. Everyone now thinks that beta testers are not to blame. Also you are our leader, right? Show a little more motivation!'' that seemed to do the trick. He raised his head back up looking at me, smiling gladly. ''Thank you Neon. I knew you wouldn't judge me on that. I originally wanted to ask Kibaou to do this for me, but there is something you need to make sure off''

''Of course, what is it?''

''In the beta...'' he started off ''there was a swordsman, dressed all in black. He would appear during boss fights and get the last attack bonus item every time'' there were multiple questions I wanted to ask, but first of all I wanted to know ''what is the last attack bonus?''. ''I was getting to that. The last attack bonus item is a powerful item that you gain from the boss if you were the player that dealt the finishing blow''

_-I... don't quite know where this is going-_

''So what about it...?'' I asked my voice filled with doubt. ''Dont you think that we should try to get that item instead?'' It shocked me to hear something like that from him. Was he being greedy? Though he did manage to convince me with his explanation ''I mean, don't you think that we could use that item to benefit every player on Aincrad?''. I looked at him with a serious expression and tried to make up an opinion ''I guess you are right... so what do I have to do...? You are not asking me to ki...'' Seeing what I was about to say, Diabel quickly crossed his arms, shouting upset ''No! Of course not! What are you thinking?!'' I dropped the act and formed a smile ''Kidding. You should have seen the look on your face'' Diabel didn't seem too pleased about that prank as he sighed and tried to get to the point of what he needed me to do.

''There are two things I need you help with. First you need to bring that player an offer of me. Tell him that I want to buy his anneal blade for 50000 col...'' That offer made me cough up air.

_-That much!?-_

''Are you sure!? Isn't that a little much for a sword?'' he quickly explained his plan to me ''the aim is not to get the sword but rather to make him weaker and therefore less likely to get the last attack bonus'' Ah that was a good idea. Though still a waste of col in my opinion... ''And I also want you to not mention me directly but rather say that someone you know wants the sword, alright?'' I trust his judgement ''Alright, can do that'' a small grin appeared on his lips and he continued with the rest ''I also want you to make sure that your party avoids the boss at all times and solely focuses on the sentinels'' Again, I will trust his judgement ''right, don't worry. I will make sure that he doesn't start playing hero. So which party did you mean?'' He pointed his index finger on the three players which I had seen before, the katana girl, the hooded person and the black haired boy.

_-So I guess the one Diabel was talking about is the black haired dude over there...-_

''Ok. Consider it done'' We fist bumped and I started walking over to the three player party. Behind me I could hear Diabel say ''I count on you!'' which made me turn around again and give him a thumps up.

Stepping closer to the three players, they started to notice me approaching. ''Hey you guys. Diabel told me that you were short of party members so he asked me to join you'' the one who replied was the back haired boy ''Eh... of course. I'll send you an invite'' seconds later, I received the message.

_Player Kirito invited you to his party..._

_-So his name is Kirito huh...? Hey I will finally find out what that girls name is!-_

I accepted the invite by clicking the yes button on my screen which made multiple health bars appear below mine. One belonged to Kirito. The other ones had the names Asuna and Sinon...

_-The hooded one is a girl...? Makes sense... trying to get less attention from all the weird perverts. So who was the katana girl now, Sinon or Asuna? I guess I will have to take a gamble on that one-_

I looked at the katana user who was observing me since the second I stepped close to them, maybe even sooner. With a cocky grin, I started off with ''Guess in the end I did find your name out, Huh Sinoooon?'' the way I pronounced her name made her become a little red in embarrassment ''Cut it out will you?! I should have left you behind in the dungeon'' Yes! So her name definitely is Sinon.

_-Though I probably pushed it a little too far...-_

Knowing that, I gave her my open hand and tried to be a little friendlier this time around ''finally I can thank you properly. My name is Neon, thank you for saving me, Sinon!'' This time I tried to pronounce it correctly but she still didn't seem too pleased about me being so loud about it. She didnt even bother shaking my hand or even say her goodbyes as she started to turn around and leave the area. None of us tried to stop her. ''So I take that you two know each other?'' I turned my attention towards Kirito ''Nah, not really. She saved me when I was nearly done for in the dungeon''. ''What about you two?'' I moved my index finger between pointing at the hooded girl and Kirito ''Do you know each other?'' They looked at each other for a second ''No'' it was Asuna who answered that question.

_-Should I ask him now for the sword...?-_

''Hey, Kirito, I have a friend who might be interested in buying that sword of yours'' I slapped myself mentally. What a stupid and dull way to ask something like that to someone who you have never talked to before... Kirito's confused glance pretty much confirmed that I probably failed to make a good impression... ''And who is that friend, if I might ask?'' Diabel didn't want me to tell him that... so what could I say instead? ''He prefers to keep his identity a secret''. ''Well, I am sorry bu...'' I interrupted him in the middle of the sentence ''he offers 50000 col for it'' that surprised him quite a bit because he proceeded to materialise his Anneal blade right in his hand ''you are kidding right? This sword isn't even remotely worth that much''. He was right though. But that wasn't the reason Diabel wanted it... I guess I'll try the innocent act ''No idea. He said that he wanted it and that he is willing to pay that much'' Kirito stared at his raised sword for a while until finally making up his mind ''Tell him that I am not selling it''

_-And I failed. Great, but I can't really do a whole lot about it-_

''Alright, I will tell him that. I see you at the boss fight'' I left both of them and made my way to Diabel who probably was In the Inn restaurant.

Arriving at the Inn, I couldn't see Diabel anywhere. Even when I checked his room, he wasn't there.

_-I guess he went farming a little more before the boss fight... So what can I do now to kill some time?-_

''To Morter...'' I sighed, somewhat depressed that I got left behind. I opened my menu just to check the time. ''18:47... plenty of time left to make preparations'' I started walking out of the Inn and towards Morter's shop. On the way I could see plenty of players celebrating that they know where the boss. Really? We haven't beaten the boss and they already celebrate. Save it for after the fight...

_-After all it was not certain whether we could win. I don't want to think so pessimistic but... anything could happen. Even Diabel...-_

I quickly pushed the thought away, thinking that it would only cause my mind to break like it did before. The pain is unbearable...

-I am amazed at how well you are handling your situation, buddy-

I sighed. It was him again. ''What do you want this time...? '' I asked quietly. There was no point in really saying it loud but whatever...

-Hey. Why are you being so Heartless...? Haha did you get the joke? Course you didn't. You can't remember, eh?-

No, I didn't get it ''I am really sick of your jokes. Can't you just go? I am not in the mood''

-Oh... sad little Neo. Going to go into a dark alleyway and cut yourself all alone...? Alright, alright, see you later-

He was gone... I am glad. I won't bother asking him about my past anymore. It seems to me that he is going to show it to me bit by bit anyway... I stopped walking and found myself right in front of Morters shop. Opening the door, I was instantly greeted by him ''Good evening, Neon. What can I do for you today?'' I started waking over to the counter. There is one thing about NPCs that Neon didn't like... they never seem to bother changing what they wear. Same went for Morter, Blue shirt white vest, every single time. ''Hey Morter, how is the shop going?'' Morter leaned on the counter with his hands ''Today was great! The adventurers seem to gear up for an event. At least I had multiple customers which practically threw their col at me'' Ah yes he didn't know ''the first boss fight is tomorrow'' Morter nearly fell, with his hands starting to shake violently, whilst he tried desperately to hold himself. I grabbed his shoulders and helped him gaining balance ''Whoa whoa calm down'' after he was standing on his feet again, he laughed a little ''I was about to break my back there again... Thanks son for catching me'' I held my hand up and gave him a smile ''Sure no big deal''. But then Morter seemed to remember why he nearly fell ''you are saying that the boss fight for this floor is tomorrow?! Wait! There is something I need to give you!'' Morter quickly got up and ran into the side room which was located at the far right behind the counter. That was where he stored all his items.

That surprised me. What did he want to give me? It took some time for him to come back. But when he came back he had some sort of... crystal or more like an orb in his hand... ''Here, Neon, take it'' he held it out for me to grab ''what exactly is this?''. I took it and started to examine it a little. It was a perfectly round and dark orb. In the middle it had some sort of flame which was completely black and a lot darker than the rest of the orb.

_-Now where did I see this before...? Wait. I know!-_

I quickly swung my right hand downwards, making the motion that would open my menu. Now staring at my menu, I went into the skill section and there I found what I was looking for. The two grey orbs in a golden box... this orb somewhat resembled that. Did they have some sort of connection? And as if on demand, a screen suddenly appeared which indicated that I received a new quest. ''Let's see...'' Extremely curious as to what this was about, I checked through the quest requirement ''Seal of the Darkness... requirement is to... fall into darkness?''

_-Wait. What?-_

What does it mean by fall into the darkness? Now even more curious, I started reading the reward list. But there was only one reward. ''Skill: Seal of the Darkness... I... don't get it'' I turned my attention back to Morter who had been listening carefully the whole time ''Do you know what exactly this is about?'' Morter shook his head ''I am afraid that I am as clueless as you are, my boy. The person that gave me this told me that it held great power. Therefore I thought that it would help you. You will fight in the boss battle, right?'' I stared at the dark orb, losing myself in my own thoughts for a second before shaking it back off ''Yes, I will. Thank you Morter, the skill might come in handy...''

_-That is, if I ever manage to finish the quest... I have no idea what these requirements are supposed to mean... I mean it doesn't even give me a waypoint on the map...-_

After being finished with analyzing the orb to the point where it just felt stupid, I placed it in my inventory and started to talk to Morter again. Morter, of course knowing what I probably needed, already assembled all the items I was here for ''here take this. You will need it for tomorrow'' I looked at it a little surprised. Multiple potions even a healing crystal? ''Morter, are you sure that you just want to give it to me like that without payin?'' He placed his right hand on my shoulder ''I want to support you just as much as you supported my shop. Just promise me that you don't die out there'' I gave him a reassuring smile ''Course I am not going to die. Thank you for the supplies old man. I appreciate it'' I raised my fist, expecting him to do the same. It took him a while to realise what I was trying to do which made him laugh a little ''haha, my boy. I think I am just getting to old for this'' and with that we gave each other a good old fist bump.

With the supplies ready, I moved over to the alchemy table, hoping that I could create something useful for the boss fight. But of course, as great of a skill it was, I could only make additional health potions. ''Why did I take this skill again...? Even cooking was more useful...'' with a sigh, I started moving towards the door, intending to leave the shop now that I was done. Before I left completely, I said my goodbyes to Morter ''See you later old man. I will have plenty of stuff to sell after this fight'' we waved our hands at each other until I finally found myself outside the shop. Taking in a deep breath, I opened my menu to check the time again... it was getting dark already. ''19:20... what should I do now? Sword is in perfect condition and I have all the supplies I need...'' Taking note of my surroundings, I noticed that the players were still celebrating.

_-I guess that I could join in on the party... Nothing else to do anyway-_

* * *

And so I did join in. Drinking and eating a little more than I would usually do. Sitting down and relaxing once in a while even allowed me to eat some of the food I made myself which I kept with me at all times. Usually, the durability runs out before I can eat it... I also found Diabel whom I told that Kirito wasn't willing to sell his sword. Giving up on that plan, we decided that I would just have to make sure that Kirito doesn't try to engage the boss. Time flew past and before I even knew it, it was 22:49 in the night.

Right now, I was hanging out with Kibaou, Lind and of course Diabel. They were talking about some random 'I-Can't-Even-Be-Bothered-To-Listen' stuff. Getting tired, I decided that I should probably take a little walk and then get to bed ''Oi guys. I'll be off'' I waved my hand at them whilst walking away. Diabel waved back ''Sure. Get some rest for tomorrow!'' and with that, I went on my way, walking around in Tolbana and trying to figure things out a little...

_-Tomorrow we will take on the boss... I hope everyone is ready-_

I started looking at the clear dark blue sky.

_-A month later and I still don't seem to have gotten closer at all to who I am...-_

There was one thing that I found out though. I had a sister...

_-Aqua... where was she right now? Was she worrying about me...?-_

-Oh you would love to know wouldn't you?-

''Two times on one day? That is a new record'' I wish I could just turn of his voice whenever I wanted to... but I was curious as to whether he knew something ''you wouldn't happen to know anyone named Aqua, right?''

-I actually knew her quite well. But you know the deal. I can't tell you anything-

_-Of course you couldn't...-_

''Well then get out of my head if you don't want to help me'' I continued walking the dark streets. The district I was in had all lights turned off. All the players were off getting drunk in a different part of Tolbana.

While walking, I kept my thoughts clear, just taking in the quiet and beautiful city around me. And whilst walking down the road, my sight caught a glance at someone who was sitting on a bench, located next to a fountain, all alone. After I got closer, it didn't take me long to realise that the lone person on that bench was Sinon.

_-Why is she sitting here all by herself...?-_

Looking closer, I could see that she wasn't in the best mood. She was sad. ''Is something wrong...? Maybe I should give her some company and try to cheer her up'' I thought out loud, starting to make my way towards where she was sitting. She had her back turned to me and was looking directly at the fountain.

_-This is such a great opportunity to scare the soul out of her! But... let's leave it this time. I don't want to make her hate me already-_

I moved right next to the bench she was sitting on. It seemed like Sinon was lost in her thoughts. She just stared at the fountain with empty eyes. I moved to the free to her right side, making sure that I sat down quietly so that she wouldn't notice me. Now I was sitting right next to her. She didn't have a clue... I wouldn't disturb her though. So I just looked at her.

It was weird to watch her staring at the fountain for what felt like an eternity. The katana user wouldn't move for an inch. But for some reason... I enjoyed sitting here... I shook my head a little, trying to get rid of that thought.

_-She looks depressed...-_

''Huhhh...'' just to confirm what I was thinking, she released a tired sounding sigh.

_-Come on. Time to cheer her up-_

''Hey, is everything alright?'' I said in a soft and caring tone. She jumped a little bit from hearing someone else. Her head turned around slowly until our eyes met and both of us looked into the blue eyes of one another. We remained like this for a few seconds but after managing to collect her thoughts, her expression turned into a shocked and angry one quickly... ''Wha...?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?'' she practically screamed at me.

_- I hope the other players can't hear us...-_

I raised my hands in defence, expecting her to jump at me in order to mess my face up pretty badly ''Hey... you seemed so lonely and I just thou...'' of course she would cut me off ''Thought what?! That you could just sit down there and stare at me? HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE!?'' Realising that I was in a bad position, I tried to think of a way to get out. One way or another, I was going to get slapped in the face for sure... ''I am sorry Sinon...'' she grabbed me by my collar '' . . '' she spelled out each and every word separately with a frightening tone in her voice. ''A few minutes maybe...''

'_SLAP'_

The impact of her hand made my head recoil to the right. I expected that... Turning to look at her again, I started massaging the spot she hit a little. Sinon was breathing heavily whilst I tried to remain calm. Her eyes told me that she was furious at me... I didn't get why. I mean yeah, I should probably have asked whether I could sit next to her or not but this reaction was absurd. Continuing to look at each other, I could see her anger disappearing slowly to the point where it was replaced with her usual calm and cold expression after taking a deep breath. ''Why are you here...'' seeing that she calmed down at least a little, I tried to make sure that it remained like that ''I just... thought that you might want some company. I mean... why are you sitting here all by yourself, staring at a water fountain?''

''It's none of your business...'' she continued to give me her cold shoulder and started to stare at the fountain again ''...and besides. Do you really think that I want anyone here? Don't you think I might want to be alone?'' Sinon didn't even bother looking at me... ''Why do you want to be alone?''

No answer...

With a sigh, I leaned myself on the bench. Seeing how she is acting, it would surprise me if I can get anything out of her...

_-Why does she have to be like that...?-_

-Why do you have to bother her like that?-

Third time in a single day... I consciously ignored that comment.

_-He is right I guess... Maybe I should just leave her alone. But I don't want to for some reason...-_

So we remained like this for quite some time. She continuously ignored my very presence whilst I was checking through my inventory. Suddenly the silence was broken by a loud growl sound, coming from my left... About to crack up laughing; I tried to keep it inside of me whilst turning my glance to the source of the sound. There I could see an embarrassed looking Sinon, trying to act as if nothing happened and her cheeks as red as tomatoes.

''Huuuuuunnggrryyyyyyyy?'' I said in a ridiculously mocking tone, trying my chance to get her to talk.

No reply. Even worse, she turned her head to the other side to make it even harder for a proper conversation to happen...

_-You know what...? I don't care-_

I went to the food section of my inventory to materialise a plain egg sandwich which is one of the only things my cooking level would allow me to create. Carefully taking it in my right hand, I held it in front of Sinon. Unfortunately her head was still turned to the other side, making her not notice it.

_-I will probably get another slap for this...-_

To gain her attention, I started rubbing the food onto her cheek which made her jump up away from me, increasing the distance between us by leaning off the bench from the other side and staring at me, with her face still being red from embarrassment ''what are you doing?!''. I smiled a little at her reaction whilst still holding the sandwich towards her ''Eat. Come on take it, it is the least I can do to thank you for saving my life'' she calmed down a little and sat down on the bench again like she did before whilst staring at the food in my hand. ''No thanks...'' crossing her arms, she leaned on the bench and continued staring at the fountain.

_-I won't give up that quickly...-_

''You have saved my life, right?'' her eyes turned towards me, with her head still pointing forward ''I guess... but I took your map data already. So can you leave it at that, please?'' Ignoring her pleads, I continued ''the way I see it: you either eat it, or I will become your eternal slave who will follow you around everywhere'' I know that probably sounded stupid, but hey it might work to lighten the mood a little at least... ''Can I then order you to jump of the Island?'' a little smirk formed on her lips.

_-Was that supposed to be a joke? Ouch... that is cruel-_

I held it even closer to her ''so what will it be? I am sure that you don't want me to call you Master Sinon every day, right?'' the katana user looked at the food in my hand until she finally decided to take it. For around five minutes, I was able to watch her slowly eating the sandwich. I couldn't tell if she liked it or not... I have never really given any of my self made food to another player.

''It's good... Where did you get it from?'' I looked back at her, noticing that she was finished. ''Thanks, I appreciate it'' my appreciation probably caught her off guard since she gave me a confused look ''you mean... you made it?'' Sinon asked hesitantly. Instead of answering it in words, I just gave her a quick nod accompanied by a smile. On that she started to laugh a little, even though she tried to suppress the urge. It looked kind of cute...

_-What the hell am I thinking about again...?-_

But it felt good. Good to sit here in the night, looking at the beautiful quiet surroundings and enjoying the breeze of fresh cool air with someone else. Someone who wouldn't make it feel too awkward like my usual party members... ''So, why are you here?'' the question came from Sinon. I was glad that she was starting to accept me at least somewhat. ''Oh me...?'' I started to scratch at my hair a little.

-Yeah you, dumbass-

_-I hate you too-_

I sighed a little at the short mental conflict I just had ''I obviously want to help getting out of this game. I was actually part of the party which found the boss room'' nice try to brag I know... ''You were? Was that why you were in the dungeon this morning?'' now she actually seemed interested ''in the morning? I was there all night...'' It reminded me of the dream again... ''Are you crazy?! Maybe you did have a death wish'' she shouted the first part, now looking into my eyes. ''It was stupid I know... don't worry about it'' she crossed her arms in front of her chest again and pouted a little ''I am not worried about anything...'' the way she said that made me chuckle a little ''Haha... well, what is your reason for coming to the boss fight?'' she should have expected that question. However her expression filled with the same sadness as before all of a sudden. Did I say something wrong?

''I came here because... I want to pay for the sins in my past''

_-W-w-wh... wha... Th... This ca... can't be happening...-_

I felt my mind breaking down, cell for cell. That was how intense the pain was. With the pain appearing so suddenly, I grabbed on to my head with both my hands, pressing as hard as I could, hoping that the pain would leave if I continued to do so.

_-She was t-t-he person f-f-from the dre...-_

''What is wrong?! Why are you so pale all of a sudden?!'' I could feel Sinon next to me trying to lay a hand on my back in order to comfort me a little, seeing that I was in pain. But before she could, I suddenly jumped up from the bench. ''I am sorry Sinon... I don't feel very go...'' for one second I stopped, thinking that I was about to throw up. ''Calm down! Tell me...'' I didn't want to stay any second longer... So I just ran off. Leaving behind Sinon, confused and probably pissed about me leaving her in the dark. But I didn't care... I just wanted to run.

Run, run, run...

In the hope that the pain would just... go away...

* * *

**What? A chapter on time? Not only that but a whole 8k words? Yeah, I am more pumped for this fanfiction than ever :D**

**Not much to say this time though. I said that this would be the final boss fight buuuuuuuuutttt... Yeah. It will be in the next chapter... No promise though XD**

**Thank you very much Antex-The Legendary Zoroark for your review^^ Really motivates me. **

**If there are some extremely painful grammatical errors then feel free to list each and every one of them in the review sections... I am still trying to improve it as good as it gets.**

**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. And of course I hope that it wasn't to horrible to the point where you just want to throw a dictionary at your screen.**


End file.
